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Evidence-led referenceJapanese names, readings and kanji
japanesenameatlas.infoJapanese name reference
Canonical reference record
JMnedict-backedKANJIDIC2 character context
Japanese surname

Sugawa

住川

Surname-classified records in JMnedict.

すがわスガワSugawa
Compare spellings
Reference coverage

Extended source depth

This reading group has a comparatively broad dictionary footprint across source-recorded spellings or records. The counts describe corpus coverage, not real-world popularity.

Distinct recorded spellings14

group-level written forms

Source spelling/reading rows14

records contributing to this reading group

Coverage levelExtended

based only on the imported source footprint

Pronunciation & romanization

How to read Sugawa

The kana reading is source-recorded. Romanization and mora segmentation are deterministic reading aids generated from that kana; pitch accent is not inferred.

Source readingすがわ

Normalized to hiragana for comparison.

Katakana formスガワ

The same reading converted to katakana.

RomanizationSugawa

Macron-style display. Vowel-sequence form: Sugawa. Personal spelling and true vowel boundaries can differ.

Mora segmentationす · が · わ

3 morae in this reading. Small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana join the preceding mora.

Audio note: the play button uses Japanese text-to-speech provided by the visitor’s browser/device. It is a convenience preview, not a recorded native-speaker pronunciation or pitch-accent authority.

Meaning by written form

What can Sugawa mean?

A Japanese name can be written in more than one way, and its meaning can change with the kanji used. Rather than assigning one English meaning to “Sugawa”, this page explains each recorded spelling separately.

Kanji spellings12

character meanings available

Kana-only spellings0

no kanji meaning attached

InterpretationBy spelling

based on the exact written form

Kanji spelling

巣河

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses
Kanji spelling

洲河

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses
Kanji spelling

菅和

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses
Kanji spelling

菅河

These are dictionary meanings for the kanji used in this spelling. Together they can suggest associations, but they do not establish one fixed English translation or a particular person’s naming intent.

Characters and loaded glosses

Showing meaning context for the first 12 distinct written forms out of 14. The recorded-spellings section below retains the wider source set.

How to read these meanings

The English words shown here are dictionary meanings of individual kanji. They help explain what a spelling can suggest, but they are not a guaranteed translation of the full name and do not establish why a particular person was given that name.

Reading profile

How Sugawa is represented

These counts describe records in the imported name corpus. They are not a ranking of how popular a spelling is among people in Japan.

Recorded kana readings1

すがわ

Kanji-based spellings14

among the forms analyzed on this page

Kana characters3

in the primary dictionary reading

Morae3

small ゃ/ゅ/ょ-type kana combine with the preceding mora

2-kanji forms14

recorded spellings

JMnedict classification evidence

How this reading is classified in the source corpus

This separates dictionary classification from popularity. The same exact kana reading can be recorded as a given name, a surname, or both, and given-name records can carry male, female or unspecified source labels.

Primary reading recorded asGiven name + surname

すがわ in the imported JMnedict corpus

Given-name written forms1

1 source spelling/reading row

Surname written forms17

19 source spelling/reading rows

Given-name labelsunspecified 1

row counts carrying each JMnedict source label

Exact readingGiven-name evidenceGiven-name labelsSurname evidence
すがわSugawa11 source rowunspecified 1source rows · distinct forms: unspecified 11719 source rows

Classification boundary: male/female/unspecified are labels attached to imported JMnedict name records. They are not population shares, probabilities, identity claims, or evidence that a spelling is currently common in Japan. A source row can also be repeated across different written forms, so row counts and distinct-writing counts are shown separately.

Spelling anatomy

Corpus structure behind Sugawa

This section summarizes the exact source-recorded forms loaded for this reading group. Stroke and character-position statistics are descriptive corpus properties, not popularity or style scores.

Kanji forms with complete stroke data14

10–20 strokes observed span

Median total strokes17

among forms with complete KANJIDIC2 stroke data

All-kanji name-classified forms13

all component kanji loaded as jōyō/jinmeiyō classes

Other/unclassified kanji forms1

contains at least one character outside that loaded classification

Reading ambiguity

Can the same writing be read another way?

6 of 14 displayed written forms have more than one surname reading somewhere in the active JMnedict corpus. This is dictionary-record ambiguity, not a prediction of how a particular person reads the name.

Written forms checked14

distinct spellings displayed on this page

Multiple recorded readings6

exact written forms with 2+ source readings

Single recorded reading8

within this active surname corpus

Largest reading set4

distinct kana readings for one displayed writing

菅川
3 source-recorded readings
SugakawaすがかわSugawaすがわ · this pageSugekawaすげかわ
栖川
2 source-recorded readings
Sugawaすがわ · this pageSukawaすかわ
須川
2 source-recorded readings
Sugawaすがわ · this pageSukawaすかわ

A reading shown without a link is still source-recorded, but its destination group does not yet meet the reference-depth standard used for the main library. Limited records are not promoted merely to create extra internal links.

Kanji role reference

How recurring characters function across Sugawa spellings

Position counts are calculated only from the distinct written forms analyzed for this page. KANJIDIC2 nanori are character-level name-reading references; they are not used here to decompose or assert the reading of a specific multi-kanji name.

KanjiCharacter glossesFormsFirstFinalInternalSoloStrokesKANJIDIC2 nanoriLoaded class
川stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)909003か, こ, さわJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 1
河river404008かっ, こ, こうJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 5
菅sedge3300011す, すが, すごJinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9
洲continent, sandbar, island220009—Jinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9
須ought, by all means, necessarily2200012もとむ, ぞJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
住dwell, reside, live110007し, じゅ, すみJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3
壽longevity, congratulations1100014かず, じ, とし, ひさ +1Jinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 10
巣nest, rookery, hive1100011—Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 4
栖nest, rookery, hive1100010す, すみJinmeiyō · KANJIDIC grade 9
澄lucidity, be clear, clear1100015きよ, すす, すみ, みJōyō · KANJIDIC grade 8
簀rough mat (reeds)1100017—Unclassified in the loaded KANJIDIC grade field
和harmony, Japanese style, peace101008あい, いず, かず, かつ +13Jōyō · KANJIDIC grade 3

Counts describe this source-recorded spelling set, not population use. A repeated kanji can contribute to more than one position role across different spellings.

Exact writing research map

Move from a spelling to its readings, characters and literal sequence context

These relationships are exact and source-backed. Whole-name readings shown in each card come from JMnedict within the current name class; exact-writing search can surface records from other name classes. Character links open KANJIDIC2-backed kanji pages. Sequence context means the same kanji string occurs contiguously in another recorded written form—it does not prove shared origin or meaning.

Showing research maps for the first 10 distinct written forms out of 14. Every detailed spelling card below still links to exact-writing search and its component kanji.

Corpus pattern

Kanji recurring across Sugawa spellings

Only characters appearing in at least two distinct analyzed spellings are shown here. Frequency describes this source-recorded spelling set, not real-world baby-name popularity.

Same reading, different writing

Explore written forms of Sugawa

14 source-recorded forms use the primary source reading すがわ. Other source readings can appear in this romanized group when the imported records converge on the same index form. Use Compare to inspect exact spellings side by side.

Spelling comparator

Compare Sugawa forms side by side

Each exact written spelling appears once in this table even when JMnedict records more than one reading for that writing. Stroke totals and character glosses come from KANJIDIC2 when all component kanji are available.

SpellingOne source readingCharacter-level glossesTotal strokesLoaded character class
住川すがわ住 — dwell, reside · 川 — stream, river10All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
壽川すがわ壽 — longevity, congratulations · 川 — stream, river17All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
巣河すがわ巣 — nest, rookery · 河 — river19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
栖川すがわ栖 — nest, rookery · 川 — stream, river13All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
洲川すがわ洲 — continent, sandbar · 川 — stream, river12All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
洲河すがわ洲 — continent, sandbar · 河 — river17All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
澄川すがわ澄 — lucidity, be clear · 川 — stream, river18All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
簀川すがわ簀 — rough mat (reeds) · 川 — stream, river20Includes unclassified/outside loaded jōyō-jinmeiyō class
菅和すがわ菅 — sedge · 和 — harmony, Japanese style19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
菅川すがわ菅 — sedge · 川 — stream, river14All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
菅河すがわ菅 — sedge · 河 — river19All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
陶川すがわ陶 — pottery, porcelain · 川 — stream, river14All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
須川すがわ須 — ought, by all means · 川 — stream, river15All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified
須河すがわ須 — ought, by all means · 河 — river20All kanji jōyō/jinmeiyō-classified

What does Sugawa mean?

There is not necessarily one fixed English meaning. The reading identifies the spoken name; different written forms can use different kanji. Character glosses describe individual kanji and should not be treated as proof of the intention behind a particular person’s name.

Related readings

More surnames beginning with すが

Related by the opening kana of the dictionary reading. This is a deterministic browsing relationship, not a claim that the names share the same meaning.

Shared-kanji relationships

Other surnames sharing kanji with Sugawa

These links are calculated from exact characters appearing in source-recorded spellings on this page. Sharing a kanji does not mean two names have the same reading, origin, gender or intended meaning.

Continue research

Where to go next from Sugawa

Use literal reading, character and corpus relationships to continue without treating nearby records as automatically related.

Evidence on this page

What each source establishes

JMnedict establishes recorded written forms, readings and name classifications; where safely associated, this page can also show JMnedict-supplied trans_det source text without treating it as a whole-name meaning. KANJIDIC2 supplies character readings, nanori, stroke counts, grade classes and English character glosses. The Ministry of Justice remains the official reference for Japanese child-name character rules. The Agency for Cultural Affairs romanization guidance is the reference for generated Latin-script reading aids.

Source boundary

The spelling-frequency and structural counts on this page are calculated from imported JMnedict records. They are corpus counts, not population-frequency claims. KANJIDIC2 supplies the kanji metadata used in character and stroke comparisons.

Review sources →