Yuko

Yuko is a feminine Japanese given name. It can be written with multiple kanji combinations, yielding different meanings; common ones include 裕子 (abundant or generous + child), 優子 (gentle or superior + child), 由子 (reason or origin + child), 悠子 (calm or distant + child), and 友子 (friend + child). It may also be written in hiragana or katakana. In romaji, it is typically rendered as Yūko, but variants such as Yuuko or Youko appear depending on the system used and how the vowel length is indicated.

The name is pronounced with two syllables and a long "u" in Japanese, often written as Yūko in scholarly contexts. In English-language references it is commonly approximated as "Yoo-koh."

Usage and cultural context: Yuko has been a common female name in Japan since the early 20th century and remains widely used today. It is almost always a given name and is not typically used as a surname.

Notable people and fictional characters: Yuko Oshima, born in 1988, is a former member of the Japanese pop group AKB48. Yūko Tanaka, born in 1958, is a veteran film and television actress. In fiction, Yuko Ichihara is a recurring character in CLAMP's xxxHolic series, where the name is used for a mysterious, influential figure.

The name reflects a broader Japanese naming tradition in which many female names end with the suffix -ko, a common element in generations of naming.