A Japanese name has been chosen for you
大河
たいが
Taiga
TYE-gah · a male name
“Great river”
Sweeping · Unstoppable · Generous
The story of Taiga
The great-river Taiga — always moving, impossible to dam.
Taiga sounds like 'tiger' in English — a happy accident that makes it one of the most memorable Japanese names abroad. In kanji it flows even larger: a great river.
Kanji by kanji
great, big
The simplest and boldest wish in Japanese naming: may this child grow great.
river
The kanji for a mighty river — water with direction and power.
How it feels
The full story
About 大河
大河 wishes for a life with the patience and power of a great river: carving valleys slowly, carrying everything toward the sea, never running backward.
Popularity in Japan
Taiga climbed the charts through the 2010s as bold, open-sounding names came into favor.
Through the decades
A thoroughly contemporary name with an epic, big-screen feel.
Deep dive
大河 — the great river — is also the word for Japan's famous year-long historical TV epics, taiga dramas. The name carries that same scale: a life story told in full, moving always forward.
Names like Taiga
Explore more of Japan
A name is only your first step into Japan.
Which Japanese Food Matches You?
Twenty dishes, twenty tastes. Seven questions about flavor, texture and how you love to eat — matched with a Japanese food and the culture behind it.
BeginWhich Japanese City Fits You?
Eight cities, eight temperaments. Answer seven questions about how you live — and meet the Japanese city that matches you.
Begin