Tarô is one of the most common Japanese given names for males. It is rather like the English name "John" in it's ubiquity and in the way it is used as a kind of generic placeholder name for an unnamed male, much like English-speakers might refer to a "John Doe" or "every Tom, Dick, and Harry."

There are 13 ways to write the name "Tarô" using Japanese Kanji, each with its own meaning:

太郎 – “sturdy son”
太朗 – “great cheer”
多朗 – “much cheer”
多郎 – “too many sons”
太楼 – “mighty watchtower”
太良 – “great goodness”
大郎 – “big son”
田老 – “rice field old man”
大漏 – “big emission”
太漏 – “vast emission”
汰郎 – “chosen son”
多良 – “much goodness”
駄郎 – “burdensome son”

By far the most common way is the first, 太郎, or "sturdy son" - something many parents hope their child will be. Indeed, if someone's name is "Tarô," most people will assume this is how it is written unless told otherwise. But the other names pop up from time to time - usually one of the other positive meanings is chosen, but Japanese parents can be much more playful with their children's names. An unwanted child might be named "too many sons" or even "burdensome child", while a particularly large baby might earn the name "big son" or "vast emission."

Tarô is also often found, especially in the "sturdy son" sense, as part of a longer male name, as in Kôtarô "sturdy son named Kô", or Tarôichi, "first sturdy son".

Of course, one can also always use hiragana (たろう) or katakana (タロウ) as well!


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