Kaoru

Kaoru
Pronunciation(Ka-OH-roo)
GenderUnisex
Language(s)Japanese
Origin
Word/nameJapanese
MeaningFragrance
Other names
Variant form(s)Kaori
[1]

Kaoru is a Japanese given name for males and females.

Name Meanings

The name's meaning varies depending on its written form:

  • 薫/郁 — "fragrance", common for both males and females
  • 馨/香 — "fragrance", more common for females
  • かおる —　purely phonetic form in hiragana; no inherent meaning
  • かをる — same as above, using を as an archaic substitute for お
  • カオル — phonetic form in katakana

As a distinctly unisex name, its usage in popular culture has risen in recent years to give the named character an air of androgyny. Such characters commonly have overt androgynous qualities as well.

A similar name, in terms of both pronunciation and meaning, is Kaori. It is used exclusively for females.

People

  • Kaoru 薫 (m) (one of the guitarists of Dir En Grey)
  • Kaoru Abe 阿部薫 (m) (free Jazz saxophonist)
  • Kaoru Adachi (安達 かおる, born 1956), Japanese film director, producer and editor
  • Kaoru Akimoto(秋元薫) Born: 1964, Japanese singer-songwriter.She was also a vocalist for the band SHAMBARA. She was discovered while participating as a backup vocalist for Matsutoya Yumi's live tour in 1983.
  • Kaoru Fujino かほる (voice actor)
  • Kaoru Fukuda (福田 薫, born 1955), Japanese speed skater
  • Kaoru Hasuike 薫 (m) (academic, writer, translator, and Japanese national once abducted by North Korea)
  • Kaoru Hatoyama (1888–1982), Japanese educator
  • Kaoru Ide, Japanese architect
  • Kaoru Ikeya 薫 (m) (astronomer)
  • Kaoru Inoue 馨 (m) (statesman)
  • Kaoru Ishibashi (m) (musician, Kishi Bashi)
  • Kaoru Ishikawa (m) (business theorist, developer of the Ishikawa diagram)
  • Kaoru Kakizakai (柿堺 香, born 1959), Japanese musician
  • Kaoru Kakudo (1947–2004), Japanese musician and violinist
  • Kaoru Kurimoto (1953–2009), Japanese novelist
  • Kaoru Kobayashi (m) (actor)
  • Kaoru Maeda 薫 (f) (professional wrestler)
  • Kaoru Matsuo (松尾 薫, born 1951), Japanese sport shooter
  • Kaoru Mitoma (m), Japanese footballer
  • Kaoru Mori 薫 (f) (manga author)
  • Kaoru Onimaru (鬼丸 かおる, born 1949), Japanese lawyer and judge
  • Kaoru Otsuki (1888–1970), Japanese politician
  • Kaoru Shimamura (嶋村 カオル, 1969–2013), Japanese voice actress
  • Kaoru Sugayama かおる (f) (volleyball player)
  • Kaoru Tada (1960–1999), Japanese manga artist
  • Kaoru Takamura (髙村 薫, born 1953), Japanese novelist and essayist
  • Kaoru Takayama (高山 薫, born 1988), Japanese footballer
  • Kaoru Uno 薫 (m) (mixed martial artist)
  • Kaoru Usui 薫 (m) (photographer)
  • Kaoru Kimura (f) Japanese astronomy educator; President, International Planetarium Society 2021-22
  • Kaoru Wada 薫 (m) (composer)
  • Kaoru Wakabayashi (若林 薫, born 1938), Japanese basketball player
  • Kaoru Yachigusa (1931–2019), Japanese actress
  • Kaoru Yosano 馨 (m) (politician)

Fictional characters

All names (except for Fujiwara no Kaoru and Kamiya Kaoru) are in western naming order.

References

  1. ^ Kaoru - Meaning and origin of the name Kaoru Archived September 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

See also

Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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