Katana Name Generator

Legendary and original names for Japanese swords

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Generate katana names in three registers: real legendary blades like Honjo Masamune and Dojigiri, romanized Japanese names with their meanings (Tsukikage, Onikiri, Shiranui), and poetic English names for swords in novels, anime, D&D and video games.

About katana names

Real katana were named in a handful of predictable ways, and borrowing those patterns is the fastest route to a name that sounds genuine. The most common is the deed name: Dojigiri (ogre cutter), Higekiri (beard cutter), Heshikiri (the one that cut by pressing), Raikiri (lightning cutter), each recording something the blade supposedly did. Next is the owner or smith: Honjo Masamune combines the general who carried it with the smith who forged it, while Mikazuki Munechika pairs the crescent-moon pattern in its temper line with its maker. A third group takes the suffix -maru, used for treasured objects as well as boys: Onimaru, Kogarasu-maru, Hotarumaru.

Original names usually come from nature or a single striking image. Swordsmiths and samurai favored weather, moon phases, seasons and plants: Shigure (late autumn drizzle), Izayoi (the sixteenth-night moon), Higanbana (spider lily). Abstract virtues (Fudoshin, Zanshin) and four-character proverbs (Denko Sekka, Setsugekka) were also used, and carry a lot of meaning in few syllables.

For fiction written in English, a translated or purely English name often lands harder than romaji the reader cannot parse. Names like the Patient Blade, Ronin's Regret or Smoke over Honnoji keep the Japanese sensibility (understatement, nature, a hint of history) while staying pronounceable at the table.

How to choose katana names

  • Name the blade after what it did, not what it is. 'Cloud Cutter' and 'Widowmaker of Sekigahara' imply a story; 'Sharp Sword' does not.
  • If you use a romaji name, check the meaning and the sound. Two or three syllables ending in a vowel or n (Hien, Shiranui, Kurokaze) read as Japanese; clusters of consonants do not.
  • Limit yourself to one suffix name per story. A single -maru or -kiri sword feels authentic; a whole armory of them feels generated.
  • For a character's family heirloom, use the smith-plus-owner pattern (Hyuga Masamune, Kasen Kanesada). It tells the reader the sword is old and has passed through hands.
  • Do not reuse famous real blades as a hero's personal weapon unless the plot accounts for it; the Honjo Masamune, the Kusanagi and the Tenka-Goken are as famous in Japan as Excalibur is in the West.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most famous katana names?

The Honjo Masamune, lost after 1945, is the most famous single blade. The Tenka-Goken (Five Swords Under Heaven) are Dojigiri Yasutsuna, Onimaru Kunitsuna, Mikazuki Munechika, Juzumaru Tsunetsugu and Odenta Mitsuyo. Kogarasu-maru, Higekiri, Hizamaru, Heshikiri Hasebe and the mythical Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi are also widely known, along with swords by Muramasa and Kotetsu.

How were real katana named?

Most were known by their smith's signature (Masamune, Kanesada, Kiyomitsu) and only a minority received personal names. Those names came from deeds (Dojigiri, the ogre cutter), owners (Honjo, Shimazu), physical traits (Mikazuki, for its crescent temper pattern), or the affectionate suffix -maru. Named swords were treated as heirlooms and their histories were recorded.

Should I use a Japanese or English name for a katana in my story?

Use Japanese if the setting is Japanese and your readers will see the name often enough to learn it; keep it short and give the meaning once. Use English if the sword is a plot object readers need to grasp instantly, or if the setting is a fantasy world inspired by Japan rather than Japan itself. This generator lists both, plus romaji names with their meanings so you can choose either form.

What is the difference between a katana, a tachi and a wakizashi?

A tachi is the older, more curved sword worn edge-down and slung from the belt; a katana is worn edge-up thrust through the sash; a wakizashi is the shorter companion blade, and a tanto is a dagger. Many legendary 'katana' are technically tachi, and the names in this generator work for any of them.

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All 500 katana names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 23 names

  • A Thousand Hammer Strikes
  • Aizen Kunitoshi
  • Aizu Oath
  • Akahane (Red Feather)
  • Akai Ito (Red Thread)
  • Akashi Kuniyuki
  • Akatsuki (Daybreak)
  • Akita Toshiro
  • Akumakiri (Devil Cutter)
  • Amagiri (Heaven Mist)
  • Amanogawa (River of Heaven)
  • Ame no Ato (After the Rain)
  • Ame-no-Murakumo
  • Aoi Honoo (Blue Flame)
  • Aoiro (Blue Hue)
  • Apology to the Living
  • Arashi (Tempest)
  • Ariake (Moon at Dawn)
  • Asagiri (Morning Mist)
  • Atsushi Toshiro
  • Autumn's Last Leaf
  • Ayame (Iris)
  • Ayasugi (Cedar Grain)

B: 13 names

  • Bell of Miidera
  • Benibana (Safflower)
  • Benikiri (Crimson Cutter)
  • Bent Willow
  • Bitter Plum
  • Bizen Osafune Nagamitsu
  • Black Lacquer
  • Blue Hour
  • Boat on the Sumida
  • Bridge of Uji
  • Burnished Mercy
  • Burnt Pine
  • Byakko (White Tiger)

C: 13 names

  • Cedar of Yakushima
  • Charcoal Burner
  • Cherry Tree at Yoshino
  • Chikai (Vow)
  • Choji (Clove Pattern)
  • Cicada Husk
  • Cliffs of Tojinbo
  • Coiled Serpent
  • Cold Morning
  • Court Whisper
  • Crane in Flight
  • Crossing at Okehazama
  • Crouching Heron

D: 12 names

  • Daihannya Nagamitsu
  • Daimyo's Mercy
  • Daughter of Ash
  • Debt to the Master
  • Denko Sekka (Lightning Speed)
  • Dojigiri Yasutsuna
  • Dojo Breaker
  • Doudanuki Masakuni
  • Dragonfly's Rest
  • Drawn at Dawn
  • Drifting Lotus
  • Dueling Crane

E: 9 names

  • Earthquake Weather
  • Ebina Kokaji
  • Elegy for Bizen
  • Eleventh Hour
  • Ember of Bizen
  • Emperor's Silence
  • Empty Hand
  • Enbu (Flame Dance)
  • Enishi (Bond)

F: 14 names

  • Falling Petal
  • Father's Oath
  • Ferryman's Pole
  • First Frost
  • Fisherman's Daughter
  • Five Rings
  • Fog on Lake Biwa
  • Folded Rage
  • Forty Days in the Forge
  • Fubuki (Snowstorm)
  • Fudo Masamune
  • Fudoshin (Immovable Heart)
  • Fujin Raijin (Wind God, Thunder God)
  • Futsu-no-Mitama

G: 10 names

  • Gate of Rashomon
  • Genbu (Black Tortoise)
  • Ghost of the Dojo
  • Gift to the Enemy
  • Gin no Kiri (Silver Mist)
  • Gokotai
  • Gorge at Kurobe
  • Goto Toshiro
  • Grandmaster's Regret
  • Gunome (Wave Pattern)

H: 46 names

  • Hachisuka Kotetsu
  • Hai no Machi (Town of Ashes)
  • Hajimari no Uta (Song of Beginning)
  • Hakata Toshiro
  • Hakuren (White Lotus)
  • Hakuto (White Peach)
  • Hammered Calm
  • Hamon (Temper Line)
  • Hana no Kage (Shadow of a Flower)
  • Hanafubuki (Petal Storm)
  • Hangetsu (Half Moon)
  • Haruka (Far Distance)
  • Harusame (Spring Rain)
  • Hatsuyuki (First Snow)
  • Hayate (Gale)
  • Held Breath
  • Heron's Patience
  • Heshikiri Hasebe
  • Hibiki (Echo)
  • Hien (Flying Swallow)
  • Higanbana (Spider Lily)
  • Higekiri
  • Hiou (Fire King)

H, continued

  • Hirameki (Glint)
  • Hiraniku (Blade Flesh)
  • Hirano Toshiro
  • Hisame (Cold Rain)
  • Hissing Draw
  • Hitokiri (Man Cutter)
  • Hizamaru
  • Hocho Masamune
  • Hoemaru
  • Hollow Reed
  • Homura (Blaze)
  • Honebami Toshiro
  • Honjo Masamune
  • Hono-o (Flame)
  • Horikawa Kunihiro
  • Hoshikiri (Star Cutter)
  • Hoshikuzu (Stardust)
  • Hoshizora (Starry Sky)
  • Hotaru (Firefly)
  • Hotarumaru
  • Humming Blade
  • Hyaku Ori (Hundred Folds)
  • Hyuga Masamune

I: 19 names

  • Ichigo Hitofuri
  • Ichigo Ichie (Once in a Lifetime)
  • Ikkatsu (One Roar)
  • Ikki Tosen (One Against a Thousand)
  • Imanotsurugi
  • Inazuma (Lightning)
  • Inga Oho (Retribution)
  • Ink Wash
  • Inyo (Yin and Yang)
  • Iron Persuasion
  • Ishikiri (Stone Cutter)
  • Ishikirimaru
  • Isonami (Shore Wave)
  • Issen (One Flash)
  • Isshoku Sokuhatsu (Hair Trigger)
  • Itame (Wood Grain)
  • Itto Ryodan (One Stroke, Two Halves)
  • Izayoi (Sixteenth Night Moon)
  • Izumi-no-kami Kanesada

J: 4 names

  • Jigen (Vision)
  • Jinrai (Swift as Thunder)
  • Jiroutachi
  • Juzumaru Tsunetsugu

K: 54 names

  • Kabutowari (Helmet Splitter)
  • Kachofugetsu (Beauty of Nature)
  • Kaen (Conflagration)
  • Kaeranai Tsubame (Swallow That Does Not Return)
  • Kagami (Mirror)
  • Kagehime (Shadow Princess)
  • Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior)
  • Kagero (Heat Haze)
  • Kakitsubata (Water Iris)
  • Kakure Oni (Hidden Demon)
  • Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)
  • Kamikiri (God Cutter)
  • Kamui (Divine Might)
  • Kasen Kanesada
  • Kashu Kiyomitsu
  • Kasumi (Mist)
  • Kaze no Kioku (Memory of Wind)
  • Kazekiri (Wind Cutter)
  • Kenkon Itteki (All on One Throw)
  • Kenshin (Sword Heart)
  • Kikko Sadamune
  • Kikuichimonji Norimune
  • Kin no Ha (Golden Blade)
  • Kinsuji (Gold Lines)
  • Kirameki (Sparkle)
  • Kirin (Unicorn)
  • Kirisame (Misting Rain)

K, continued

  • Kissaki (Point)
  • Kitsunebi (Fox Fire)
  • Kobai (Red Plum)
  • Kodama (Tree Echo)
  • Kogarashi (Withering Wind)
  • Kogarasu-maru
  • Kogitsune-maru
  • Kokoro (Heart)
  • Kosame (Light Rain)
  • Kosoku (Light Speed)
  • Kotegiri Go
  • Kotegiri Masamune
  • Kotodama (Word Spirit)
  • Kousetsu Samonji
  • Kubikiri (Neck Cutter)
  • Kumogiri (Cloud Cutter)
  • Kumokiri
  • Kumoma (Break in the Clouds)
  • Kurenai (Deep Crimson)
  • Kurogane (Black Steel)
  • Kurohyo (Black Panther)
  • Kuroi Tsubasa (Black Wings)
  • Kurokaze (Black Wind)
  • Kuroshio (Black Current)
  • Kurouchi (Black Forge)
  • Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi
  • Kuwana Go

L: 8 names

  • Lacquered Night
  • Lake of Ashinoko
  • Lantern on the Water
  • Last Snow of Spring
  • Laughing Demon
  • Leaping Carp
  • Letter to the Dead
  • Lullaby for a Shogun

M: 33 names

  • Maboroshi (Illusion)
  • Man Giri (Ten Thousand Cuts)
  • Mangetsu (Full Moon)
  • Masame (Straight Grain)
  • Master's Gift
  • Matsu Hito (One Who Waits)
  • Matsukaze (Pine Wind)
  • Mezameta Tora (Waking Tiger)
  • Midare Toshiro
  • Midareba (Wild Temper)
  • Midsummer Haze
  • Midwinter Sun
  • Mikazuki Munechika
  • Mino Frost
  • Mizu no Kokoro (Heart of Water)
  • Mizuchi (Water Serpent)
  • Mizukiri (Water Cutter)
  • Mokume (Burl Grain)
  • Momiji (Autumn Maple)
  • Monk's Silence
  • Monoyoshi Sadamune
  • Moonlit Edge
  • Morning Bell
  • Mother's Lullaby
  • Mugen (Infinite)
  • Mujo (Impermanence)
  • Mumyo (Nameless)
  • Murasame (Village Rain)
  • Musashi Masamune
  • Musashi Twin
  • Muso (Peerless)
  • Mutsu-no-kami Yoshiyuki
  • Myoho Muramasa

N: 16 names

  • Nagare (Flow)
  • Nagasone Kotetsu
  • Nagori (Lingering Trace)
  • Naku Yanagi (Weeping Willow)
  • Namazuo Toshiro
  • Nanatsu no Hoshi (Seven Stars)
  • Nemuri Ryu (Sleeping Dragon)
  • Nenekirimaru
  • Never Drawn Twice
  • Nie (Crystal Glitter)
  • Nikkari Aoe
  • Nine Bamboo
  • Nine Dead Smiths
  • Nioi (Mist Glitter)
  • No Second Stroke
  • Northern Lantern

O: 15 names

  • Oboro (Hazy Moon)
  • Ode to Rust
  • Odenta Mitsuyo
  • Old Tokaido
  • One Cut
  • One Last Duel
  • Onikiri (Demon Cutter)
  • Onimaru Kunitsuna
  • Ookanehira
  • Ookurikara
  • Opening Peony
  • Oreta Tsubasa (Broken Wing)
  • Osafune Pride
  • Owaranai Yoru (Night Without End)
  • Oyashio (Parent Tide)

P: 12 names

  • Paper Moon
  • Pearl Diver
  • Pilgrim's Rest
  • Pine of Miho
  • Pines of Matsushima
  • Plum at Dazaifu
  • Plum Blossom Frost
  • Polished Grief
  • Polisher's Eye
  • Prayer for the Fallen
  • Promise to the River
  • Pulse of the Forge

Q: 2 names

  • Quenched Fire
  • Quiet Thunder

R: 11 names

  • Raikiri
  • Raiko (Thunder Light)
  • Raimei (Thunderclap)
  • Rain at Nagashino
  • Reeds of the Kamo River
  • Rice Field Mirror
  • River Stone
  • Road to Edo
  • Ronin's Regret
  • Ryuo (Dragon King)
  • Ryusei (Falling Star)

S: 72 names

  • Sabi no Nai (Never Rusting)
  • Sagami Wind
  • Saigo no Ichigeki (Final Blow)
  • Sakurafubuki (Cherry Blossom Storm)
  • Salt and Ash
  • Samidare (Early Summer Rain)
  • Samidare Go
  • Sands of Tottori
  • Sasanuki
  • Sasayaki (Whisper)
  • Satsuma Thunder
  • Sayo Samonji
  • Sazanami (Ripple)
  • Scabbard Maker's Secret
  • Scattered Camellia
  • Second Breath
  • Seiryu (Azure Dragon)
  • Seki Edge
  • Semishigure (Cicada Rain)
  • Sen Ori (Thousand Folds)
  • Sengo Muramasa
  • Senko (Flash)
  • Sesshin (Severed Heart)
  • Setsugekka (Snow, Moon, Flowers)
  • Seven Rivers Crossed
  • Shadow of Himeji
  • Sheathed at Dusk
  • Shiden Issen (Purple Lightning Flash)
  • Shigure (Late Autumn Drizzle)
  • Shimazu Masamune
  • Shinano Toshiro
  • Shingetsu (New Moon)
  • Shinken (True Blade)
  • Shinra Bansho (All Creation)
  • Shinrai (Divine Thunder)
  • Shinsoku (Godspeed)

S, continued

  • Shion (Aster)
  • Shiranami (White Wave)
  • Shiranui (Phantom Fire)
  • Shiraume (White Plum)
  • Shiro no Yume (Dream of the Castle)
  • Shirogane (Silver)
  • Shirohebi (White Snake)
  • Shiroi Kiba (White Fang)
  • Shishinoko
  • Shizuka (Stillness)
  • Shizuku (Droplet)
  • Shogun's Shadow
  • Shokudaikiri Mitsutada
  • Shukumei (Fate)
  • Silent Tide
  • Singing Steel
  • Six Wandering Years
  • Sleeping Dragon
  • Smoke over Honnoji
  • Snow Country
  • Snow on Mount Hiei
  • Sohaya-no-Tsurugi
  • Son of the Forge
  • Song for the Drowned
  • Soshu Tide
  • Souza Samonji
  • Sparrow's Gambit
  • Spider Lily Road
  • Split Bamboo
  • Still Water
  • Student's Answer
  • Suguha (Straight Temper)
  • Summer Storm
  • Sunagashi (Drifting Sand)
  • Suzaku (Vermilion Bird)
  • Swordsmith's Tears

T: 57 names

  • Taikogane Sadamune
  • Taikyoku (Great Ultimate)
  • Takegiri (Bamboo Cutter)
  • Takekaze (Bamboo Wind)
  • Tamahagane (Jewel Steel)
  • Tamashii (Soul)
  • Tanuki-no-Kage (Shadow of the Tanuki)
  • Taroutachi
  • Tasogare (Dusk)
  • Tatewari (Shield Breaker)
  • Tempered Patience
  • Tenma (Heavenly Horse)
  • Tenrai (Heavenly Thunder)
  • Tensho (Heavenly Light)
  • Tenth Winter
  • The Carp That Climbs
  • The Cat on the Wall
  • The Crow at the Window
  • The Dragon in the Well
  • The First Lesson
  • The Fox Under the Bridge
  • The Heron Who Waits
  • The Last Word
  • The Long Silence
  • The Patient Blade
  • The Quiet Argument
  • The Short Answer
  • The Sparrow in the Rafters

T, continued

  • The Tiger in the Reeds
  • The Unsheathed Word
  • The Wolf at the Gate
  • Thirteen Blossoms
  • Three Nights of Quenching
  • Three Rivers
  • Tides of Dan-no-ura
  • Tobiyaki (Scattered Fire)
  • Tomaranai Ame (Rain That Does Not Stop)
  • Tomita Go
  • Tomokirimaru
  • Tori no Uta (Song of a Bird)
  • Totsuka-no-Tsurugi
  • Tsubaki (Camellia)
  • Tsubakuro (Swallow Black)
  • Tsukikage (Moon Shadow)
  • Tsukikiri (Moon Cutter)
  • Tsukishiro (Moon Castle)
  • Tsukiyo no Kawa (River on a Moonlit Night)
  • Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)
  • Tsumujikaze (Whirlwind)
  • Tsuranuki (Piercer)
  • Tsurugi (Straight Blade)
  • Tsurumaru Kuninaga
  • Tsuyugiri (Dew Cutter)
  • Tumbling Maple
  • Twenty-Seven Folds
  • Two Heavens
  • Typhoon Eye

U: 17 names

  • Uguisumaru
  • Umikaze (Sea Wind)
  • Unbowed Reed
  • Unbroken Oath
  • Uncut Silk
  • Unfinished Poem
  • Unkept Promise
  • Unlit Lantern
  • Unpaid Debt
  • Unquiet Grave
  • Unspoken Name
  • Unturned Stone
  • Unwritten Letter
  • Urashima Kotetsu
  • Utakata (Ephemeral Foam)
  • Utsuri (Reflection)
  • Uzushio (Whirling Tide)

V: 1 name

  • Vermilion Sheath

W: 13 names

  • Wanderer's Edge
  • Warai Kitsune (Laughing Fox)
  • Wasurena (Forget-Me-Not)
  • Waterfall Veil
  • Whispering Reed
  • Whistling Cut
  • Widow's Lantern
  • Widowmaker of Sekigahara
  • Wilting Chrysanthemum
  • Wind Over Kawanakajima
  • Winter Moon
  • Winter Sparrow
  • Woodcutter's Grudge

Y: 21 names

  • Yagen Toshiro
  • Yaiba (Edge)
  • Yamabiko (Mountain Echo)
  • Yamakaze (Mountain Wind)
  • Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
  • Yamashiro Moon
  • Yamato-no-kami Yasusada
  • Yamatorige
  • Yamihime (Dark Princess)
  • Yatagarasu (Three-Legged Crow)
  • Yattsu no Kumo (Eight Clouds)
  • Yoake (First Light)
  • Yoimachi (Waiting for Night)
  • Yoimachigusa (Evening Primrose)
  • Yoroidoshi (Armor Piercer)
  • Yudachi (Evening Shower)
  • Yuki no Shita (Beneath the Snow)
  • Yukifubuki (Blizzard)
  • Yukigiri (Snow Cutter)
  • Yukihime (Snow Princess)
  • Yuzuki (Evening Moon)

Z: 5 names

  • Zangetsu (Slaying Moon)
  • Zanka (Slaying Flower)
  • Zanshin (Lingering Mind)
  • Zanshu (Beheader)
  • Zantetsu (Iron Cutter)