(alternatively romanized ''Taro'', ''Tarô'', ''Talo'', ''Taroh'' or ''Tarou''), is a stand-alone masculine

Japanese given name in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

or a common name second half of such a name (literally meaning "eldest son"). Tarō can also be used as a surname, but the etymology and

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

are different.

Written forms

The name ''Tarō'' can have many different meanings depending on the

characters used to write it. It can also be written using

hiragana is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' means "common" or "plain" kana (originally also "easy", ...

katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

. Possible variations of the name Taro include: *太郎, "strong, heroic, masculine" *多朗, "abundance, prolific, melodious" *立楼, "stand up, upright, watchtower" *汰滝, "selected waterfall"

People with the given name

* Taro Achi (阿智太郎, born 1980), Japanese

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

ist and screenwriter * Akebono Tarō (曙太郎, 1969–2024), sumo wrestler from Hawaii *, Japanese slalom canoeist * Asashio Tarō IV (born 1955), retired sumo wrestler from Muroto, Japan * Taro Aso (麻生太郎, born 1940), Japanese politician and the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan * Taro Chiezo (千恵藏太郎), Manhattan based, Japanese artist *

Taro Daniel is an American-Japanese professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 58 on 15 January 2024. He has won one ATP Tour singles title at the 2018 Istanbul Open, as well as nine ATP Challenger Tour singles ti ...

(ダニエル太郎, born 1993), professional Japanese tennis player * Taro Gold (金太郎, born 1969), American writer, entertainer, and entrepreneur * Tarō Gomi (五味太郎, born 1945), Japanese children's book illustrator and writer *

Taro Hakase is a Japanese musician who specialises as a violinist and composer. Biography Career Hakase was involved in a Japanese band called Kryzler & Kompany which formed while he was in college. He played the violin, while Tsuneyoshi Saito played ke ...

(葉加瀬太郎, born 1968), musician, violinist, and composer from

Suita is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 381,238 in 182,636 households, and a population density of 11,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a suburban city of Osaka City and a p ...

, Japan *, Japanese opera singer * Taro Ishida (石田太郎, 1944–2013), a Japanese voice actor, and actor from

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Japan * Taro Iwashiro (岩代太郎, born 1965), a Japanese composer *, Japanese footballer * Katsura Tarō (桂太郎, 1848–1913), soldier and

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

*, Japanese journalist *, Japanese politician * Taro Kono (河野太郎, born 1963), a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

* Taro Kudo (工藤太郎), a Japanese video game designer and video game music composer * Maruse Taro (マルセ太郎, 1933–2001), Japanese mime artist, comedian, vaudevillian and movie star * Tarō Okamoto (岡本太郎, 1911–1996), a Japanese artist from Kawasaki Japan *

Taro Shoji was a popular Japanese ryūkōka singer. He also used the aliases , , and in his early recording career. Early life Shōji was born in Akita, Akita Prefecture. His father was an employee of the South Manchuria Railway, and his parents moved ...

(東海林太郎, 1898–1972), a Japanese

ryūkōka is a Japanese music genre, musical genre. The term originally denoted any kind of "popular music" in Japanese, and is the East Asian cultural sphere, sinic reading of ''hayariuta'', used for commercial music of Edo period, Edo Period. Therefore, ...

singer *, Japanese footballer * Taro Teshima (born 1912), Japanese rower * Taro Urabe (卜部太郎, born 1977), former Japanese football player * Taro Yamaguchi (山口太郎, born 1970), Japanese actor * Taro Yamasaki, Japanese American

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning photographer and the eldest son of

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...

* Tarō Yamamoto (山本太郎, born 1974), Japanese politician and actor who is well known for portraying Shogo Kawada in '' Battle Royale'' * Taro Yamamoto (artist) (1919-1994), Japanese American

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

artist who served in the U.S. Army during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* Taro Yashima (八島太郎, 1908-1994), pseudonym of a Japanese artist and

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

in the United States *

Yoko Taro is a Japanese video game director and scenario writer. Starting his career at the now defunct game developer Cavia, his best-known work is on the action role-playing video game series '' Drakengard'', and its spin-offs, '' Nier'' and '' Nie ...

, a Japanese video game director and scenario writer

People with given names ending ''-tarō''

* Jutarō **

Komura Jutarō was a Japanese statesman and diplomat.

(小村壽太郎, 1855–1911), Japanese politician and a statesman and diplomat in the

Meiji Period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

* Kantarō ** Nakamura Kantarō II (二代目中村勘太郎, born 1981), the former stage name of Nakamura Kankuro VI(六代目中村勘九郎), Japanese

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

, film, and television actor ** Kantarō Suzuki (鈴木貫太郎, 1868–1948), an admiral in the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

, and the former Prime Minister of Japan * Kitarō (given name) ** Kataro Shirayamadani (1865–1948), a Japanese ex-patriate ceramics painter who did most of his work in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States * Kōtarō ** Kotaro Koizumi (小泉孝太郎, born 1978), Japanese actor and the eldest son of former Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...

* Kyōtarō ** Kyotaro Nishimura (西村京太郎), Japanese mystery novelist * Rentarō **

Rentarō Mikuni was a Japanese actor, writer and director, who starred in films of Keisuke Kinoshita, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai, Shōhei Imamura, Tomu Uchida and many others. He received numerous prizes for his performances and was awarded the Jury Prize at t ...

(三國連太郎, born 1923), Japanese film actor **

Rentarō Taki was a Japanese pianist and composer of the Meiji era. Taki was born in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 m ...

(滝廉太郎, 1879–1903), a Japanese composer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the best-known composers of Japan * Ryōtarō ** Ryōtarō Shiba (司馬遼太郎, 1923–1996), Japanese

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

author from

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

** Ryōtarō Sugi (杉良太郎, born 1944), Japanese actor and singer from

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

* Ryūtarō **

Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. Born in Okayama Prefecture, Hashimoto graduated from Keio University in 1960 and entered the National Diet in 1963. He rose through the ...

(橋本龍太郎, 1937–2006), Japanese politician and the 83rd Prime Minister of Japan * Sakutarō ** Sakutarō Hagiwara (萩原朔太郎, 1886–1942), Japanese poet and writer * Shintarō ** Shintaro Abe (安倍晋太郎, 1924–1991), Japanese politician, and father of former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

** Shintarō Ishihara (石原慎太郎, born 1932), Japanese politician, author, and the

Governor of Tokyo The is the head of government of Tokyo. In 1943, upon the unification of Tokyo City and Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture into Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the position of Governor was created. Previously, the prefecture had a ...

from 1999-2012 ** Shintaro Katsu (勝新太郎, 1931–1997), Japanese actor, producer, director, and singer * Shōtarō ** Shōtarō Ikenami (池波正太郎, 1923–1990), Japanese author who won the Naoki Award for popular literature in 1960 **

Shotaro Ishinomori , né , was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, writer and director. Known as the "King of Manga" (漫画の帝王 (''Manga no Teiou)'' or 漫画の王様 (''Manga no Ousama)''), he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential mang ...

(石ノ森章太郎, 1938–1998), Japanese manga artist known for his works such as '' Cyborg 009'' and '' Himitsu Sentai Gorenger'' * Shuntarō ** Shuntarō Tanikawa (谷川俊太郎, born 1931), a Japanese poet and translator * Tsurutarō ** Tsurutarō Kataoka (片岡鶴太郎, born 1954), a Japanese comedian, actor, artist, and professional boxer * Umetarō ** Umetaro Suzuki (鈴木梅太郎, 1874–1943), Japanese scientist from the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan * Yatarō ** Iwasaki Yatarō (岩崎弥太郎, 1835–1885), Japanese businessman, financier, shipping industrialist, and founder of

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

* Yoshitarō **, Japanese boxer **, Japanese film director, producer and screenwriter

Characters

Momotarō is a Folk hero, popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as ''Peach Boy'', but is directly translated as ''Peach + Tarō (given name), Tarō'', a common Japanese given name. ''Momotarō'' is also the title of various books, ...

, the hero from a fairy tale * Jōtarō Kūjō, the protagonist of '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders'' * Rantaro Amami, a character in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony * Monotaro, one of the Monokubs in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony * Kitarō, the

titular Titular may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title Religion * Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome ** Titular bisho ...

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the ''

GeGeGe no Kitarō , originally known as , is a Japanese manga series created in 1960 by Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as , a class of spirit-monster which all of the main characters belong t ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series created by Shigeru Mizuki * Kintarō, the hero from a fairy tale *

Urashima Tarō is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale (''otogi banashi''), who, in a typical modern version, is a fishermen, fisherman rewarded for rescuing a sea turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There, ...

, the hero from a fairy tale * Shippeitaro, the hero from a fairy tale *'' Ultraman Taro'', the sixth Ultra Brother * Taro Soramame, a character in ''Dr. Slump'' media * Taro Kagami of the pilot version of ''Death Note'' * Taro Namatame, an antagonist of ''

Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...

'' *Taro Kato, a character in '' Gorenger'' *Taro, a character in Oobi *Taro, a character in '' Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories'' *Taro Nagazumi, the Japanese student in ''Mind Your Language'', played by Robert Lee * Hamtaro, Japanese hamster character. *Ryoutarou Nogami, a character in '' Kamen Rider Den-O'' *Gentaro Kisaragi, a character in ''

Kamen Rider Fourze is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the thirteenth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-second overall. It began airing on September 4, 2011, the week following the conclusion of ''Kamen Rider OOO'' ...

'' *Taro Sato, a character in '' Kamen Rider Build'' *Taro Yamada, character in '' Dokaben'' *Taro Yamada, character in ''

Yandere Simulator ''Yandere Simulator'' is an upcoming stealth action video game for Windows. The story follows obsessively lovesick schoolgirl Ayano Aishi, nicknamed " Yandere- chan", who takes it upon herself to eliminate (through either violent or non-viole ...

'' *Gut Buster Taro, a character from ''

Kamen Rider Zero-One is a Japanese tokusatsu drama series produced by Toei Company and TV Asahi. It is the 30th series in the ''Kamen Rider'' franchise and the first series in the Reiwa period. The show premiered on September 1, 2019, following the finale of '' Kam ...

'' *Yumetaro, the protagonist of '' Gimmick!'' *Jataro Kemuri, a character in '' Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls'' *Ryūtarō Naruhodō, an alias used by a character in '' The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve'' *Ryotaro Dojima, a character in ''

'' *Koops, known as "Nokotarō" in Japan, support character in '' Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door'' *Sōtarō Ushigome/GaoBlack, a character of '' Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger''. *Kotarō Sakuma/Koguma SkyBlue, a character of '' Uchu Sentai Kyuranger''. *Tarō Momoi/Don Momotarō, a character and the leader of '' Avataro Sentai Donbrothers'', based on

folklore. *Kōtarō Minami, the main character of '' Kamen Rider BLACK'' and '' Kamen Rider BLACK RX'' * Taro Sakamoto, the main character of '' Sakamoto Days'' *Tenma Taro, a mythical being in '' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taro (given name) Japanese masculine given names Masculine given names

Written forms

People with the given name

People with given names ending ''-tarō''

Characters

See also

References