Kaoru


Kaoru is a Japanese given name for males and females.

Name Meanings

The name's
meaning varies depending on its written form:
  • 薫/郁 — "fragrance", common for both males and females
  • 馨/香 — "fragrance", more common for females
  • かおる —　purely phonetic form in hiragana; no inherent meaning
  • かをる — same as above, using を as an archaic substitute for お
  • カオル — phonetic form in katakana
As a distinctly unisex name, its usage in popular culture has risen in recent years to give the named character an air of androgyny. Such characters commonly have overt androgynous qualities as well.
A similar name, in terms of both pronunciation and meaning, is Kaori. It is used exclusively for females.

People

Fictional characters

All names are in western naming order.