Naoto

Naoto pairs nao, written with the character for honest or direct, with to for person, clarity, or abundance. The result reads with a sense of forthright character, a name chosen by parents who prize candor. It belongs most prominently to Naoto Kan, Japan's prime minister during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima disaster, and to industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa, whose work for Muji has shaped a generation of global design. Two syllables open broadly and close firmly. The sound is unadorned, upright, self-contained. A name that suggests someone who means what they say. Plain in the best sense.