Phonetic transliteration of the Japanese girl's name Ayame (あやめ /
綾女 /
菖蒲):
阿 (ā, the standard Chinese-style 'name softener', cf.
阿姨/
阿哥) +
亚 (yà) for 'ya' +
美 (měi) for 'me'. In Japanese
菖蒲 'ayame' is also the name of the iris flower, traditionally associated with Boys' Day (
端午の
節句).
