Japanese Names That Mean Autumn: Kaede, Akiko and Moon Names
Autumn in Japan is the season of red maple leaves, clear nights for moon-viewing and the rice harvest. It has its own set of names. Some use the character for autumn itself. Many more borrow an autumn image, like a leaf or a full moon. This article goes through the autumn names in our dictionary.
The kanji of autumn
- 秋 (aki): autumn itself
- 楓 (kaede): maple
- 月 (tsuki): the moon, the great symbol of the Japanese autumn
- 葉 (ha): leaf
- 柚 (yuzu): the yuzu citrus, ripening in late autumn
- 菊 (kiku): chrysanthemum, the autumn flower
You will find them on our pages of names meaning seasons, trees and the moon.
Names that say "autumn"
Akiko can be written 秋子, "autumn child". Our first-listed spellings, though, are 明子, "bright child", and 晶子, "crystal child", so the autumn meaning belongs to only one spelling. Akiko is a classic -ko name, more common among mothers and grandmothers than among babies today.
There are other aki-names, such as Akiho or Akino, that can be spelled with 秋 as well, but we don't list them yet. When you meet an aki name, remember that aki can also be 明 ("bright") or 晶 ("crystal"), so check the kanji.
Maple and autumn leaves
Kaede, 楓, is the maple, and probably the most loved autumn name of all. Japanese maples turn brilliant red in November, and people travel to see them, just as they do for spring cherry blossom. Kaede is mainly a girls' name. 楓 is also turning up in boys' names: both 楓 and 楓真 were in the top 100 for boys born in 2025 in Meiji Yasuda's ranking.
The word for autumn colours, 紅葉, can be read momiji or kōyō. Momiji is occasionally used as a name, though it is not in our dictionary yet.
Names with 葉, "leaf", also carry a hint of autumn foliage. Examples are Kazuha (和葉, "harmony" and "leaf") and Kotoha (琴葉), which was in the girls' top ten for 2025.
Moon names for autumn babies
In Japan the moon belongs to autumn. The harvest moon, jūgoya, is celebrated with moon-viewing (tsukimi) in September or early October. That makes moon names a natural fit for an autumn birthday:
- Mitsuki: 美月, "beautiful moon", or 満月, "full moon". The second is the most autumnal of all.
- Hazuki: 葉月, literally "leaf month", is the old name of the eighth month. Under the old lunar calendar that fell around early autumn.
- Yuzuki: 柚月, "yuzu" and "moon". Both are autumn images, so this is a neat double.
- Saku: 朔, the new moon or first day of the month. It was 6th for boys born in 2025.
- Tsukiko: 月子, "moon child", a classic girls' name.
See every moon name on our moon and night page.
Koharu: a late-autumn secret
Koharu, written 小春, means "little spring". In Japanese, though, koharu is the old name for the mild, sunny days of late autumn, as in koharu-biyori, an Indian-summer day. It is a lovely, little-known way to give a November baby a name that sounds like spring. The other spellings, 心春 and 心陽, use "heart" and are not seasonal in the same way.
Harvest and fruit
Autumn is harvest time. Names with 実 ("fruit") or 穂 ("ear of grain") exist, but they are not in our dictionary yet. Among the names we do list, Momoka and Ichika (苺花, "strawberry flower") are fruit names, but they belong to spring rather than autumn.
Choosing an autumn name
A few things to keep in mind:
- Decide how literal you want to be. Akiko (秋子) says "autumn" outright. Kaede and Mitsuki suggest it through an image, which many parents prefer.
- Check the spelling. Akiko, Mitsuki and Koharu are autumn names only in some spellings, so choose the kanji deliberately.
- Think about the month. Kaede and moon names suit September to November. Koharu fits best in November, and Yuzuki carries into winter.
Pairing autumn names
Remember that the surname comes first in Japanese. Autumn names pair beautifully with tree and mountain surnames, for example Hayashi Kaede ("grove" and "maple") or Yamada Mitsuki.
Keep exploring
Browse every name on seasons, trees and forest and the moon and night, or see all girl names.