Shigeru

Shigeru is a masculine given name of Japanese origin. It is most commonly written with the kanji 茂, which conveys lush growth and prosperity, though other kanji spellings exist. The name has long been part of Japanese naming practices and can be found across different historical periods.

As a traditional male name, Shigeru has been widely used in Japan and remains recognizable today, though its popularity has varied over time. The pronunciation is consistently Shigeru, and it is typically presented as a given name rather than a surname in Japanese usage.

Notable people with the given name Shigeru include Shigeru Miyamoto (born 1952), a prominent video game designer at Nintendo renowned for creating the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises; Shigeru Ban (born 1957), an architect noted for innovative use of paper and rapid-disaster architecture; and Shigeru Yoshida (1878–1967), a diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Japan after World War II.