Girl name · Japanese
Umi
Name meaning, origin and popularity
: the seaUmi is a girl's name that comes from Japanese and means "the sea". It is used in Japanese.
- Meaning
- The sea
- Origin
- Japanese
- Gender
- Girl
- US rank
- #7108 in 2025
Meaning and origin of Umi
As a girl's name, Umi comes from Japanese and means "the sea". It is used in Japanese.
Its meaning puts Umi 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 Umi in Japanese
In hiragana, Umi is うみ. Below is a kanji spelling used for the name, with what each kanji means. Parents can choose other kanji, and each choice gives the name its own meaning.
| Kanji | Reading | What the kanji mean |
|---|---|---|
| 海 | うみ | 海 sea |
Kanji and readings from the JMnedict and KANJIDIC2 dictionaries (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), checked by our editors.
Umi on Nomezo lists
What our editors wrote about Umi on 3 lists.
“海: sea. Say oo-mee”
From Anime girl names, anime girl names from sky, sea and seasons
“The sea; short, simple and calm.”
From Japanese girl names, japanese nature names: sky, sea and seasons
“The sea, written 海; Japanese”
From Ocean names, ocean names for girls
How popular is Umi?
- US rank in 2025
- #7,108
- 16 babies, 10 per million girls
- Best rank
- #5,390 in 2021
- 24 babies that year
- Babies since 2006
- At least 185
- 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 | 0 per million |
| 2000s | 1 per million |
| 2010s | 4 per million |
| 2020s | 10 per million |
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #18,687 | #12,647 | #11,373 | #9,075 | #10,195 | #5,390 | #5,969 | #7,224 | #8,910 | #7,108 |
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 Umi
One or two letters apart, but from a different root: they look alike without sharing a meaning.
- UmaFlax (Sanskrit, girl)
- UmePlum blossom (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- UrmiWave (Sanskrit, girl)
- UrpiDove (Quechua, girl)
- UtaPoem; song (depends on characters) (Japanese, girl)
- UteWealth, fortune (Germanic, girl)
- UxíaWell born (Greek, girl)
Names with a similar meaning
- MarinaOf the sea (Latin, girl)
- MurielBright sea (Scottish Gaelic, girl)
- MiraPeace, from Slavic Mir- names; in Sanskrit, sea (Slavic, girl)
- CoralReef stone of the sea (Greek, girl)
- DaryaHolding firm the good; also sea in Persian (Persian, girl)
- KaiThe sea (Hawaiian, unisex)
- MarinoOf the sea (Latin, boy)
- MaristelaStar of the sea (Latin, girl)
- MurchadhSea warrior (Irish Gaelic, boy)
- MurphySea warrior (Irish Gaelic, unisex)
Middle names for Umi
Picked from our middle-name lists with a different first letter and a longer length, so the full name flows.
- BelleBeautiful (French, girl)
- BlairPlain, field (Scottish Gaelic, unisex)
- ClementineMerciful, gentle (Latin, girl)
- DahliaFlower named for botanist Anders Dahl (Swedish, girl)
- HeatherHeather plant (English, girl)
- MadelineWoman from Magdala (Hebrew, girl)
- MargaretA pearl (Greek, girl)
- PrudenceForesight, good sense (Latin, 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)
Umi: common questions
What does the name Umi mean?
Umi comes from Japanese and means "the sea".
Is Umi a boy or girl name?
Umi is mainly a girl's name. In 2025, 16 girls and 5 boys in the US were named Umi, according to Social Security Administration data.
Where does the name Umi come from?
Umi comes from Japanese and means "the sea". Today it is used in Japanese.
How do you write Umi in Japanese?
Umi is written うみ in hiragana. Kanji spellings include 海 (sea). The kanji parents choose decide what the name means.
How popular is the name Umi?
Umi ranked #7,108 in the US in 2025, with 16 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.
What names are similar to Umi?
Names spelled like Umi include Uma, Ume, Urmi, Urpi and Uta.
What middle names go with Umi?
Middle names that flow well with Umi include Belle, Blair, Clementine, Dahlia and Heather. A different first letter and a contrasting length usually sound best.