Japanese Kanji for Love and Heart: 愛, 恋 and 心 in Names
"What is the kanji for love?" is one of the most common questions people ask about Japanese. The honest answer is that there are several, and they mean different kinds of love. This article explains the three main ones, 愛, 恋 and 心, plus a few close relatives. It then shows how they are used in real Japanese names.
愛 (ai): deep, giving love
愛 is the broadest word for love: affection, care and devotion. It covers love for a child, a partner, a friend or humanity. In Japanese it can sound quite weighty in everyday speech. People rarely say ai shiteru ("I love you") casually. In names, though, it is one of the best-loved characters there is.
How popular? In Meiji Yasuda's yearly survey, 愛 was the most-used kanji in girls' names for the fourth year running in 2025 (source, in Japanese). The same survey's historical tables show the single-kanji name 愛 as the number one girls' name every year from 1983 to 1989, and tied for first in 1990.
Names with 愛 in our dictionary:
- Ai: 愛 alone, "love". The other spellings, 藍 ("indigo") and 亜衣, have different meanings.
- Mana: also 愛 alone, read Mana, a reminder that one kanji can have several name readings.
恋 (koi): romantic love
恋 is love as longing: romance, falling in love, missing someone. A common way to sum up the difference is that 恋 wants and 愛 gives. 恋 is less often the main meaning of a name, but it appears as one spelling of Ren (恋). Ren is far more often written 蓮, "lotus", or 廉, "honest". If someone tells you their name is Ren, don't assume it means romance.
心 (kokoro): heart and mind
心 means the heart in every sense except the anatomical one. It covers feelings, spirit, sincerity and mind. It is gentler than 愛 and has become hugely popular in modern names, often read ko or kokoro:
- Kokoro: 心 alone, "heart, mind", a unisex name.
- Koharu: 心春 ("heart" and "spring") or 心陽 ("heart" and "sun"). 心陽 was 7th among girls born in 2025.
- Kokona: 心菜 or 心奈.
Look closely and you will see that 愛 and 恋 both contain 心. In 愛 it sits in the middle of the character, and in 恋 it sits at the bottom. Love, in other words, is written with a heart inside it.
Love's relatives: bonds, kindness and harmony
Many names express love less directly, through characters for connection and kindness:
- 結 (bind, tie): a bond between people. Meiji Yasuda's 2025 report singled out boys' names about connection and bonds as a trend, among them Yuito (結翔), 2nd for boys. You will also find 結 in Yui (結衣, 結), Yuna (結菜) and Yuzuki (結月).
- 優 (gentle, excellent): kindness, as in Yuto (優斗), Yuma (優馬) and Yuka (優花).
- 恵 (blessing, grace): in Emi (恵美), Keiko (恵子) and Ema (恵麻).
- 友 (friend): in Tomoya (友哉) and Tomoko (友子).
- 和 (harmony, peace): in Kazuki (和樹), Kazuha (和葉) and Yamato (大和).
All of these are gathered on our page of names meaning love and kindness.
Love names in a full name
In Japanese the surname comes first, so try any of these names after a family name. A love name usually sits well with a landscape surname, which balances feeling with place. Two examples are Ogawa Yui, "small river" and "bind", and Yamada Kokoro. Short love names like Ai and Yui are two beats each, so they also pair nicely with longer surnames such as Takahashi.
If you want the kanji itself, not a name
If you are thinking of using a love kanji on its own, for calligraphy, a gift or a tattoo, a few tips:
- Use 愛 for love in general. It is the character most Japanese readers will recognise as "love".
- Use 恋 only if you mean romance. It can read as yearning or a crush.
- Consider 心 if you mean heart, spirit or sincerity. It is simple, at just four strokes, and widely understood.
- Check with a native reader before anything permanent. A mis-drawn or mirrored character is easy for Japanese readers to spot.
Keep exploring
Browse all names on love and kindness and hope and happiness, or see any name in Japanese with our name converter.