counter for people (honorific)
Honorific counter for people, used especially for customers, guests, or reservations. Common in service contexts.
ご予約は何名様ですか。
How many people in your party (reservation)?
Ten people attended the meeting.
We have three guests visiting today.
Refers to a person's given name, as opposed to surname. Often used in forms or when asking for one's name.
お名前とご住所をお書きください。
Please write your name and address.
彼の名は太郎です。
His name is Taro.
Prefix used in compounds to mean 'famous' or 'great', as in 名探偵 (great detective). Not freely productive.
See also: 名探偵
彼は名探偵として知られている。
He is known as a great detective.
この店は名物のラーメンが人気だ。
This shop is popular for its famous ramen.
Suffix attached to nouns to mean 'name of ...', as in 学校名 (school name) or コード名 (code name).
このファイルのコード名を教えてください。
Please tell me the code name of this file.
学校名を記入してください。
Please fill in the school name.
noun (grammar)
Abbreviation of 名詞 (noun), used in dictionary contexts or linguistic discussions. Not used in everyday speech.
See also: 名詞
辞書では「名」は名詞の略として使われる。
In dictionaries, '名' is used as an abbreviation for noun.
彼は名を名乗らずに去った。
He left without giving his name.
Will this be for four guests?
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 refers to a person's surname/family name, whereas 名 refers to their given (first) name.
人 is the plain, everyday counter for people, while 名 is its honorific counter used for customers, guests, or reservations.
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 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.