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For example, Michiko can be written several different ways. Last names can
also be spelled differently.
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kanji orthography names
Why are Japanese personal names pronounced the same but written differently?
Because kanji has the different meaning even if they are pronounced the same.
For example, the kanji characters of み are 美,見 etc. Them of ち are 知、智、地 etc.
Them of みち are 道, 満, 路 etc. The kanji character of こ which placed the end of
woman's first name is usually 子.

So we can choose these kanji for a name みちこ like 美智子, 路子, and 見知子.
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The reason is that parents choose the _kanji_ for their meaning. Depending on
the _kanji_ chosen, the suggested meaning is different, for example

  * 美智子 — "beautiful wise child"
  * 美千子 — "child of a thousand beauties"
  * 見知子 — "child of recognition"
  * 道子 — "child of the way"
  * 路子 — "child of the road"
  * 倫子 — "child of morals"
  * 皆子 — "child of all"
  * 通子 — "child of passage"

(taken from <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michiko>).

There are several special suffixes/endings for first names, for which usually
only one _kanji_ is chosen, such as

  * 子 _-ko_ for girls
  * 郎 _-rō_ for boys

Also, _-o_ is a common ending for boys' names, usually emphasizing the male
gender, although several _kanji_ are common: 雄, 夫, 男.

For _Michiko_ , common spellings would thus be of the form [〇]{みち}子 or
[〇]{み}[〇]{ち}子. Since 子 means, it is a girl's name, for [〇]{みち} you can choose
from 道, 路, 満(ち), 倫, 理, etc.; for [〇]{み}[〇]{ち}子, you can essentially choose
[〇]{み} (美, 観, 見, etc.) and [〇]{ち} (知, 智, 千, etc.) separately.

Choosing _kanji_ for a name can be very creative. Often, parents may also
consult a priest at a temple or shrine as there exists a complex system for
fortune-telling, based on the total stroke counts of certain pairs or triples
in the name, family name included.
([Here](http://enamae.net/f/%E6%B5%9C%E6%9D%91__%E7%BE%8E%E6%99%BA%E5%AD%90#result)
is an online calculator.)

For more common suffixes in given names, see [How can I tell if a Japanese
given name is male or
female?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/44536/1628)
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