Naoko
# Naoko

Naoko (なおこ, ナオコ) is a feminine Japanese given name which is occasionally spelled Nahoko (なほこ, ナホコ).

## Possible writings

Naoko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:

* 直子, "obedient, child"
* 尚子, "esteem, child"
* 奈緒子, "Nara, cord, child"
* 菜緒子, "greens, cord, child"
* 奈央子, "Nara, center, child"
* 菜穂子, "greens, ear (of grain), child"
* 奈保子, "Nara, keep, child"
* 奈生子, "Nara, fresh, child"

The name can also be written in hiragana or katakana.

## People with the name

* Nahoko Kinoshita (菜穂子, born 1980), Japanese actress
* Nahoko Kojima (奈保子, born 1981), Japanese paper cut artist
* Nahoko Uehashi (菜穂子, born 1962), Japanese writer
* Naoko Fukatsu (深津 尚子, born 1944), Japanese tennis table player
* Naoko Funayama, Japanese American sportscaster
* Naoko Hashimoto (born 1984), Japanese volleyball player
* Naoko Hayashiba (直子, born 1968), Japanese writer and shogi player
* Naoko Iijima (直子, born 1968), Japanese actress
* Naoko Imoto (直歩子, born 1976), Japanese freestyle swimmer
* Naoko Ishihara (奈央子, born 1974), Japanese sport shooter
* Naoko Kamio (born 1967), Japanese suit actor
* Naoko Kawai (河合奈保子, born 1963), Japanese singer and actress
* Naoko Ken (ナオコ, born 1953), Japanese singer and actress
* Naoko Kijimuta (雉子牟田 直子, born 1972), Japanese tennis player
* Naoko Kouda (直子, born 1959), Japanese voice actress
* Naoko Kume (久米 直子, born 1963), Japanese swimmer
* Naoko Matsui (菜桜子, born 1961), Japanese voice actress
* Naoko Miura (三浦 直子, born 1959), Japanese swimmer
* Naoko Mori (尚子, born 1971), Japanese actress
* Naoko Saito (齋藤 尚子, born 1976), Japanese field hockey player
* Naoko Sakamoto (runner) (直子, born 1980), Japanese long-distance runner
* Naoko Sakamoto (softball) (直子, born 1985), Japanese softball player
* Naoko Sato (直子, born 1955), Japanese tennis player
* Naoko Sawamatsu (奈生子, born 1973), Japanese professional tennis player
* Naoko Takahashi (尚子, born 1972), Japanese long-distance runner
* Naoko Takeuchi (直子, born 1967), Japanese manga artist
* Naoko Watanabe (渡辺奈緒子, born 1984), Japanese actress who appeared in Silk
* Naoko Watanabe (菜生子, born 1959), Japanese voice actress
* Naoko Yamada, (尚子, born 1984), Japanese animator and film director
* Naoko Yamano (直子, born 1960), member of the Japanese rock trio Shonen Knife
* Naoko Yamazaki (直子, born 1970), Japanese astronaut

## Fictional characters

* Naoko, a character in the anime series Bubblegum Crisis
* Naoko (直子), a character in the novel Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
* Naoko, a character in The Revenge of Shinobi (The Super Shinobi)
* Naoko Akagi (ナオコ), minor character in the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion
* Naoko Kamikishiro (直子), character in the light novel and manga Boogiepop and Others
* Naoko Kawamata, character in the film, The Grudge 3
* Naoko Satomi, a main character in the film The Wind Rises
* Naoko Yamada (奈緒子), the main heroine of the Japanese TV drama series Trick
* Naoko Yanagisawa (奈緒子), character in the anime and manga series Cardcaptor Sakura
* Naoko Yasutani, a main character of the novel A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
