Makoto as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Makoto

What is the meaning of the name Makoto ?

The baby name Makoto is a Unisex name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced Japanese: /ma.ko.to/; English approximation: "MAH-koh-toh".

Makoto is Japanese in Origin.

Makoto is a Japanese unisex given name rooted in the native word makoto, denoting “sincerity,” “truth,” and a “true heart.” Its most common kanji is 誠 (“sincerity”), though it can also be written as 真 (“true”), 真琴 (“true koto/harp”), or in kana (まこと/マコト). Because meanings in Japanese depend on characters, spellings with 琴 (“koto,” a zither) often lend a more feminine impression, while 誠 skews traditionally masculine.

The virtue of makoto has deep cultural resonance in Shinto (magokoro, “pure heart”) and the samurai ethic, helping the name gain steady use from premodern times through the Meiji and postwar eras. It peaked as a male name in the mid–late 20th century but remains genuinely unisex today. Variants and related forms include nicknames like Mako and alternative kanji compounds; romanization is typically Makoto.