ティファニー
Your name
Tiffany
in Japanese
The default way to write Tiffany in Japanese is ティファニー — a phonetic katakana spelling that captures the sound and signals, instantly to a Japanese reader, that the name comes from elsewhere. But katakana is only one of three answers Japanese gives to a foreign name.
Below, we show all three. First the official katakana. Then a set of meaning kanji chosen to express what Tiffany actually means at the root — From Greek 'Theophania' meaning 'manifestation of God' or 'divine appearance' — celebrating the Epiphany. Finally a set of ateji, the playful tradition where the kanji match the sound and tell their own small story underneath.
Katakana — Phonetic
How Tiffany is most commonly written in Japanese — used on official documents, business cards, and signage.
Meaning Kanji — Etymology
"Tiffany" means: From Greek 'Theophania' meaning 'manifestation of God' or 'divine appearance' — celebrating the Epiphany
神顕
Shinken
神 (kami/shin) = god, divine; 顕 (ken) = manifest, reveal, appear — directly captures 'divine manifestation'
光臨
Kourin
光 (kou) = light, radiance; 臨 (rin) = to descend upon, to grace with presence — evokes a divine being descending in light
聖現
Seigen
聖 (sei) = holy, sacred; 現 (gen) = appear, manifest — 'sacred appearance', a clean rendering of the Epiphany meaning
Ateji — Sound + Meaning
Where the sound matches and the kanji tell their own small story. The Edo scholars and modern manga authors both played this game.
天妃凪
Tifanagi
天 (ti, from ten) = heaven; 妃 (fa, from hi) = princess, royal consort; 凪 (nagi) = calm sea — mystical: a heavenly princess of the calm sea
蒂華輝
Tifaki
蒂 (ti) = flower stem/calyx; 華 (fa, from ka/hana) = flower, splendor; 輝 (ki) = radiance — cute and floral: a stem blooming into radiant splendor
翠妃音
Tifane
翠 (ti, from sui/midori) = jade green, kingfisher; 妃 (fa, from hi) = princess; 音 (ne) = sound, tone — cool and elegant: the voice of a jade princess
Not sure which form to use?
Katakana, meaning kanji, and ateji each belong to a different part of Japanese life — official paperwork, calligraphy and gifts, signatures and wordplay. Our full guide walks through when to reach for each one.
Read the guide: the three ways to write your name in Japanese →
Seven, drawn