Keiko (given name)

Keiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Keikō (景行), with a long "o," is the name posthumously given to Emperor Keikō.

Possible meanings

As with many Japanese names, Keiko can be written using a number of different kanji. Some of the most common ways of writing Keiko (and the most representative meanings of the respective kanji) are:

• 恵子 — "lucky/blessed child"
• 敬子 — "respectful child"
• 景子 — "sunlight/view/scenic child"
• 桂子 — "katsura tree child"
• 圭子 — "square jewel child"
• 慶子 — "happy child"
• 啓子 — "open (one's eyes)/express/spring (season) child"
• 硅子 — "silicon child"

The suffix ko (子) implies the name is female and the name is almost never given to males. Much less commonly, Keiko can also be written as 螢子, 輕子, or 軽子.

Notable people

• Keiko Abe, 安倍 圭子 a Japanese composer and percussionist
• Keiko Agena, an American actress
• Keiko Chiba (千葉 景子), a politician and former justice minister of Japan
• Keiko Fukuda (福田 敬子, 1913-2013), a Japanese-born American martial artist
• Keiko Fuji (藤 圭子, 1951-2013), a Japanese enka singer, actress, and mother of Hikaru Utada
• Keiko Fujimori (藤森 恵子), a Peruvian congresswoman and former first lady
• Keiko Fukuda, judoka
• Keiko Han (潘 恵子), a Japanese voice actress and western astrologer
• Keiko Hasegawa (長谷川 恵子, born 1955), Japanese speed skater
• Mazie Keiko Hirono (広野 慶子), an American politician and the junior United States Senator from Hawaii
• Keiko Ihara (井原 慶子), a Japanese race car driver
• Keiko Kitagawa (北川 景子), a Japanese model/actress
• Keiko Kubota (窪田啓子), a Japanese singer and a member of the J-pop groups FictionJunction and Kalafina
• Keiko Masuda (増田恵子), member of the J-pop duo Pink Lady
• Keiko Matsui (松居慶子), an internationally renowned Japanese pianist/composer
• Keiko Miura (三浦恵子), a Japanese field hockey athlete
• Keiko Nobumoto, (信本敬中) a Japanese screenwriter the creator of Wolf's Rain
• Keiko Takemiya (竹宮 惠子), a Japanese manga artist
• Keiko Takeshita (竹下景子), a Japanese actress
• Keiko Toda (戸田 恵子), a Japanese actress
• Keiko Utoku (宇徳敬子), a Japanese singer/songwriter
• Keiko Yamada (山田 桂子), a Japanese singer and lead vocalist of the J-pop band Globe
• Keiko Yamada (manga artist) (山田 圭子), a Japanese manga artist
• Keiko Kubota (窪田啓子), a Japanese singer

Fictional characters

• Keiko Arahida, a recurring character played by Yūko Takeuchi in the 2009 TV series FlashForward
• Keiko Hasegawa, a main character in the webcomic Okashina Okashi – Strange Candy
• Keiko Katou, a character from Strike Witches
• Keiko O'Brien, a character from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Keiko Onuki or Keiko Inoue, a character in the novel and film Battle Royale
• Keiko Makino, a character from the manga The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.
• Keiko Yukimura, a character from the manga seriesYuYu Hakusho
• Keiko Nekton, a character from the graphic novel The Deep: Here Be Dragons and the following TV series The Deep.
• Keiko Tanaka a character from What's New Scooby Doo, episode Big Appetite in Little Tokyo
• Keiko Ayano (Silica), a character in Sword Art Online

Animals

• Keiko (orca), the orca, or killer whale, which performed in the film Free Willy

See also

• Japanese names
• Japanese writing system
• Svetlana, an equivalent Slavic name

References