Minami (みなみ; ミナミ; 南, lit. "south") is both a Japanese surname and a feminine Japanese given name (occasionally used for males).
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Written forms
As a surname, Minami is most frequently written in kanji as 南, meaning "south". Minami (南) is shared by 100,000+ individuals in Japan. The remaining variants are used by less than 2,000 individuals each and are generally used by related families.
As a given name, Minami may be written as simply "みなみ" and rarely "ミナミ", or it can be written using different kanji characters or a mix of hiragana and kanji to convey different meanings, such as:
People with the surname
Akina Minami (南 明奈, born 1989), Japanese gravure idol and tarento
Dale Minami (born 1946), Japanese American lawyer
Eiko Minami (南 栄子, born 1909), Japanese dancer
Haruka Minami (みなみ 遥), Japanese manga artist
Haruo Minami (三波 春夫, 1923–2001), Japanese enka singer
Hikari Minami (みなみ 飛香, born 1994), Japanese professional wrestler
Hiroaki Minami (南 弘明, born 1934), Japanese composer
Jirō Minami (南 次郎, 1874–1955), Japanese general and convicted World War II war criminal
Kaho Minami (南 果歩, born 1964), Japanese actress
Katsuyuki Minami (南 克幸, born 1970), Japanese volleyball player
Kunzo Minami (南 薫造, 1883–1950), Japanese painter
Moeka Minami (南 萌華, born 1998), Japanese women's footballer
Omi Minami (南 央美, born 1968), Japanese voice actress, essayist and columnist
Yoshiharu Minami (南 喜陽, 1951–2024), Japanese judoka
Yoshikazu Minami (南 芳一, born 1963), Japanese professional shogi player
Yoshitaka Minami (南 佳孝, born 1950), Japanese musician
Yuta Minami (南 雄太, born 1979), Japanese footballer
People with the given name
Women
Minami (actress) (美波, born 1986), Japanese actress
Minami (singer) (美波, born 1997), Japanese singer
Minami Ando (安藤 みなみ; born 1997), Japanese table tennis player
Minami Aoyama (青山 南, born 1985), Japanese pink film actress and AV idol
Minami Hamabe (浜辺 美波, born 2000), Japanese actress
Minami Hokuto (北都 南), Japanese voice actress
Minami Iju (伊集 南, born 1990), Japanese women's basketball player
Minami Itahashi (板橋 美波, born 2000), Japanese diver
Minami Kato (加藤 美南, born 1999), Japanese idol, singer and former member of NGT48
Minami Kuribayashi (栗林 みな実, born 1976), Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
Minami Minegishi (峯岸 みなみ, born 1992), Japanese idol and member of AKB48 and no3b
Minami Otomo (大友 みなみ, born 1981), Japanese actress and model
Minami Ozaki (尾崎 南, born 1968), Japanese manga artist, also known as Ryo Minami (南亮) and Minami Himemuro (姫室ミナミ)
Minami Sadamasu (貞升 南, born 1986), Japanese professional shogi player
Minami Takahashi (高橋 みなみ, born 1991), Japanese singer, tarento, and former member of AKB48
Men
Minami Aoyama (青山南, born 1949), male Japanese translator, essayist, American literary researcher, literary critic, picture book writer, real name Shigeru Sugiyama
Minami Ichikawa (市川南 (映画プロデューサー), born 1966), male Japanese film producer
Fictional characters
As a given name
Minami Amada (天田 南), a character in the manga Jormungand
Minami Hayama (葉山 南), a character in the Japanese television drama Long Vacation
Minami Iwasaki (岩崎 みなみ), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Lucky Star
Minami Kaido (海藤 みなみ), a character in the anime series Go! Princess PreCure
Minami Katayama (片山 実波), a character in the manga and anime series Wake Up, Girls!
Minami Kotobuki (寿 みなみ), a character in manga and anime series Oshi no Ko
Minami Maki (真木 南), a character in the manga Majitora!
Minami Nanba (難波 南), a male character in the manga Hana-Kimi
Minami Sakurai (桜井 水波), a character in the web novel series The Irregular at Magic High School
Minami Shimada (島田 美波), a character in the light novel series Baka and Test
Minami Takahashi (高橋 みなみ), a character in the anime series AKB0048
Minami Toba (鳥羽 美波), a character in the manga series Laid-Back Camp
As a surname
The Minami (南) sisters (Haruka (春香), Kana (夏奈), and Chiaki (千秋)), characters in the manga series Minami-ke