Sakura
Female nameJapanese
✨ Meaning
Sakura is the Japanese word for the cherry blossom, the flower that has stood at the centre of Japanese aesthetics for more than a thousand years. Its significance rests on brevity: the blossom lasts only about a week, and its beauty is understood as inseparable from that impermanence. Naming a daughter Sakura is therefore a reference to an entire way of seeing rather than to a flower alone.
🌍 Origin
Cherry blossom viewing, hanami, is recorded in Japanese court poetry from the Heian period onward and remains a national event each spring. The name is usually written with the single character for the tree, and it rose to prominence as a girls' name in the later twentieth century. It is now recognised internationally.
⭐ Famous People Named Sakura
- Sakura Ando
- Sakura Miyawaki
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What does Sakura mean?
Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom, usually written with the single character for the tree.
Why is the cherry blossom so important in Japan?
Its beauty lasts only about a week, and that brevity has made it the central image of impermanence in Japanese aesthetics.
How is Sakura pronounced?
It is sah-KOO-rah, with three even syllables and no strong stress.