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This phrase of a Japanese song "Ai to iu namae no hoshi de" is translated as
"made on the star called love". Now "namae no hoshi de" would be something
like "in the star of name..." , but I can't make sense of "ai to iu".

I know ai is love, and iu is "to say", but how exactly "ai to iu" translates?
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translation particles
Ai to iu namae no hoshi de (愛という名前の星で)
"Ai to iu (blank)" means "the (blank) called love."

[According to definition #2 of "iu" on
jisho.org:](http://jisho.org/search/%E8%A8%80%E3%81%86)

>   2. to name; to call
>

"namae" reinforces that "to iu" is giving the name of the star, but it doesn't
add much. "Ai to iu hoshi" would still mean "the star called love."
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『欲望{よくぼう}という名{な}の電車{でんしゃ}』 (A Streetcar Named Desire)

According to the [Progressive Japanese-English
Dictionary](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/je/52678/meaning/m0u/):

> −という【−と言う】
>
> 1 〔…と呼ばれている〕
>
> ジョンという男の子 ====== a boy named John
>
> 銀座という繁華街 ======= a shopping area called “the Ginza”

Tricky (ironic) uses are discussed at
<http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/3417750.html>

```

           平和維持と言う名の侵略
    
           権利と言う名の束縛
    
           尊厳死と言う名の殺人
    
```
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2016-08-19T01:16:32.743
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という is almost a single particle of
[apposition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apposition), that roughly means
"called", "named" or "which is". The word has no grammatical equivalent in
English, so I can't give the "exact" translation of itself independent from
sentence.

> 愛という名前の星で  
>  lit. _at/in/on a planet by/with name of love_  
>  "on a planet that has the name 'love'"

Yes, it often disappears in natural English translation (as in _the planet
Earth_ , _the word impossible_ etc).

* * *

という and という名（前）の also has subtle difference. When you say `X という Y` you refer
to the entity mentioned by the name _X_ , but when `X という名前の Y`, you're only
sure about the name and it could mean "any" _Y_ named _X_.

> オバマという男は大統領だ。 _A man known as Obama is president._ → true  
>  オバマという名前の男は大統領だ。 _A man whose name is Obama (you can pick) is..._ → false  
>  **その** オバマという名前の男は大統領だ。 _**The** man whose name is Obama is..._ → true  
>  オバマという名前の男 **が** 大統領だ。 _The president is a man whose name is Obama._ → true

* * *

**PS**  
The spelling is 愛という名前の惑星【ほし】で in [the original
lyrics](http://www.jtw.zaq.ne.jp/animesong/ti/southern/yakusoku.html) OP
mentioned, which is a [creative
ateji](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/27453/7810).
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