名めい

め

い

Meanings

Honorific counter for people, used especially for customers, guests, or reservations. Common in service contexts.

Refers to a person's given name, as opposed to surname. Often used in forms or when asking for one's name.

Prefix used in compounds to mean 'famous' or 'great', as in 名探偵 (great detective). Not freely productive.

〈数かず〉名めいcounting people politely, e.g. in reports or announcements
会かい議ぎには十じゅう名めいが参さん加かした。
Ten people attended the meeting.
名なを名な乗のるto state or give one's own name
彼かれは名なを名な乗のらずに去さった。
He left without giving his name.
〈数かず〉名めい様さまused by staff to politely count customers or guests
こちらは4名めい様さまでよろしいでしょうか。
Will this be for four guests?

名な前まえN5sense 2
名前 is the common everyday word for a person's name, while 名 is more formal and often appears in set phrases or compounds.

姓せいN2sense 2
姓 refers to a person's surname/family name, whereas 名 refers to their given (first) name.

人にんplainsense 1
人 is the plain, everyday counter for people, while 名 is its honorific counter used for customers, guests, or reservations.

命めい
命 (めい, as in 命令) means order or command and is unrelated in meaning to 名, though the two share the same reading めい.
銘めい
銘 means an inscription or brand mark (as in 銘柄), a different word from 名 despite the identical reading めい.

From Middle Chinese 名 (mjieng). The kanji 名 has been used in Japanese for 'name' and related concepts since early borrowing.