# Minami (name)

Minami (みなみ; ミナミ; 南, lit. "south") is both a Japanese surname and a feminine Japanese given name (occasionally used for men).

## 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.
* 南, "south" (also a male/female given name)
* 南海, "the south sea" (This surname may also be a given name).
* 美並, "average beauty"
* 美波, "a beautiful wave"
* 見並, "look, average"
* 見波, "look, wave"
* 見浪, "look, wave"
* 皆見, "every look"
* 皆美, "every beauty"
* 皆巳, "every snake"
* 三浪, "three waves"
* 三波, "three waves"
* 巳波, "snake, wave"
* 己波, "oneself, wave"
* 味波, "flavor/taste, wave"
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:
* 南海, "the south sea"
* 美南, "the beautiful south"
* 美海, "the beautiful sea" (This name can also be read as Mina.)
* 美波, "a beautiful wave"
* 三波, "three waves"
* 未渚美, "the yet beautiful beach"
* 実海, "wave of truth"
* みな実, "every truth"
* みな美, "every beauty"

## 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, born 1951), 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
* Minami Takayama (高山 みなみ, born 1964), Japanese voice actress, narrator, singer and composer
* Minami Tanaka (田中 美海, born 1996), Japanese voice actress
* Minami Tanaka (announcer) (田中 みな実, born 1986), announcer and tarento
* Minami Yamanouchi (山ノ内 みなみ, born 1992), Japanese long-distance runner

### 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
* Itsuki Minami (南 樹), a character in the anime and manga series Air Gear
* Kaori Minami (南 佳織), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Battle Royale
* Ken Minami (美波 ケン), a character in the manga Machine Robo Rescue
* Kenjirō Minami (南 健次郎), a character in the anime and manga series Yuri on Ice
* Kohtaro Minami (南 光太郎), a character in the Japanese superhero drama series Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Black RX
* Kotori Minami (南 ことり), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Love Live! School Idol Project
* Mirei Minami (南 みれぃ), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Pripara
* Rena Minami (水波 レナ), a character in the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica
* Shizuku Minami (南 しずく), a character in the manga Sakura Trick
* Tsuyoshi Minami (南 烈), a character in the manga Slam Dunk
* Youichi Minami (南 陽一), a character in the manga Gokusen
* Yuko Minami (南 夕子), a character in the Japanese superhero drama series Ultraman Ace