Girl name · Japanese
Mio
Name meaning, origin and popularity
: water channel, wake of a boatMio is a girl's name that comes from Japanese and means "water channel, wake of a boat". It is used in Japanese.
- Meaning
- Water channel, wake of a boat
- Origin
- Japanese
- Gender
- Girl
- US rank
- #7383 in 2025
Meaning and origin of Mio
As a girl's name, Mio comes from Japanese and means "water channel, wake of a boat". It is used in Japanese.
Its meaning puts Mio on our names that mean water or sea list.
Meanings come from published name dictionaries, led by Behind the Name. How we research names
How to write Mio in Japanese
In hiragana, Mio is みお. In kanji it can be written several ways, and each choice gives the name its own meaning. These are spellings used for the name, with what each kanji means.
| Kanji | Reading | What the kanji mean |
|---|---|---|
| 澪 | みお | 澪 water channel |
| 美緒 | みお | 美 beauty, beautiful + 緒 cord, beginning |
| 未央 | みお | 未 not yet + 央 center, middle |
Kanji and readings from the JMnedict and KANJIDIC2 dictionaries (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), checked by our editors.
Mio on Nomezo lists
What our editors wrote about Mio on 3 lists.
“澪: waterway. Say mee-oh”
From Anime girl names, cute anime girl names
“A water channel, or the wake left by a boat.”
From Japanese girl names, modern Japanese girl names
“Waterway, written 澪; Japanese, a popular girl's name in Japan”
From Ocean names, names that mean water, river or spring
How popular is Mio?
- US rank in 2025
- #7,383
- 15 babies, 9 per million girls
- Best rank
- #5,788 in 2020
- 21 babies that year
- Babies since 1988
- At least 348
- Years with under 5 are not listed
| 1880s | 0 per million |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 0 per million |
| 1900s | 0 per million |
| 1910s | 0 per million |
| 1920s | 0 per million |
| 1930s | 0 per million |
| 1940s | 0 per million |
| 1950s | 0 per million |
| 1960s | 0 per million |
| 1970s | 0 per million |
| 1980s | 0 per million |
| 1990s | 1 per million |
| 2000s | 5 per million |
| 2010s | 8 per million |
| 2020s | 9 per million |
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,871 | #7,721 | #8,465 | #9,543 | #5,788 | #7,899 | #10,174 | #8,352 | #6,850 | #7,383 |
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, 1880 to 2025, as published in 2026. Each spelling is counted separately, a name given to fewer than 5 babies of one sex in a year is left out, and few people born before 1937 have records, which is why the chart shows babies per million rather than raw counts.
Names spelled like Mio
One or two letters apart, but from a different root: they look alike without sharing a meaning.
- MiaPet form of Maria (Hebrew, girl)
- MihoBeautiful ear of grain (Japanese, girl)
- MinQuick, clever (depends on characters) (Chinese, unisex)
- MisoSmile (Korean, girl)
- MiuBeautiful feather (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- MilaGracious, dear (Slavic, girl)
- MiraPeace, from Slavic Mir- names; in Sanskrit, sea (Slavic, girl)
- MaiaGood mother (Greek, girl)
- MaeThe month of May; also a pet form of Mary or Margaret (English, girl)
Names with a similar meaning
- IrvingGreen water (Brythonic, boy)
- OndinaWater sprite (Latin, girl)
- AysuMoon water (Turkish, girl)
- BengisuWater of immortality (Turkish, girl)
- CansuSoul, water (Turkish, girl)
- DamlaDrop of water (Turkish, girl)
- GöksuSky water (Turkish, unisex)
- IaraLady of the water (Tupi, girl)
- KawaiThe water (Hawaiian, unisex)
- MaayanSpring of water (Hebrew, unisex)
Middle names for Mio
Picked from our middle-name lists with a different first letter and a longer length, so the full name flows.
- AmeliaPossibly vigorous, brave (Germanic, girl)
- BelleBeautiful (French, girl)
- FelicityHappiness, good fortune (Latin, girl)
- HazelHazel tree (Old English, girl)
- IsabelGod is my oath (Hebrew, girl)
- JuniperEvergreen shrub (Latin, girl)
- VictoriaVictory, triumph (Latin, girl)
- WillowWillow tree (Old English, girl)
More girl names from Japanese
- AiLove; indigo (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AikoBeloved child (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AimiLove and beauty, written 愛美 (Japanese, girl)
- AkaneDeep red, madder (Japanese, girl)
- AkariLamplight (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AkemiBright beauty (Japanese, girl)
- AkiSecond and hope, written 亜希 (Japanese, girl)
- AkikoBright child; autumn child (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- AkiraBright, clear (depends on characters) (Japanese, unisex)
- AmaneHeavenly sound (depends on characters) (Japanese, unisex)
Mio: common questions
What does the name Mio mean?
Mio comes from Japanese and means "water channel, wake of a boat".
Is Mio a boy or girl name?
Mio is mainly a girl's name. In 2025, 15 girls and 7 boys in the US were named Mio, according to Social Security Administration data.
Where does the name Mio come from?
Mio comes from Japanese and means "water channel, wake of a boat". Today it is used in Japanese.
How do you write Mio in Japanese?
Mio is written みお in hiragana. Kanji spellings include 澪 (water channel), 美緒 (beauty + cord) and 未央 (not yet + center). The kanji parents choose decide what the name means.
How popular is the name Mio?
Mio ranked #7,383 in the US in 2025, with 15 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.
What names are similar to Mio?
Names spelled like Mio include Mia, Miho, Min, Miso and Miu.
What middle names go with Mio?
Middle names that flow well with Mio include Amelia, Belle, Felicity, Hazel and Isabel. A different first letter and a contrasting length usually sound best.