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).

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.

• Naoko Fujioka (藤岡 奈穂子; born 1975), Japanese former professional boxer
• Naoko Fukatsu (深津 尚子; born 1944), Japanese tennis table player
• Naoko Fukuman (福万 尚子; born 1992), Japanese badminton player
• Naoko Funayama (船山 直子), Japanese American sportscaster
• Naoko Gushima (具島 直子; born 1969), Japanese singer-songwriter
• Naoko Hashimoto (橋本 直子; born 1984), Japanese volleyball player
• Naoko Hayashiba (林葉 直子; born 1968), Japanese writer, manga artist and former women's professional shogi player
• Naoko Iijima (飯島 直子; born 1968), Japanese television and film actress and a former gravure idol
• Naoko Imoto (井本 直歩子; born 1976), Japanese former freestyle swimmer
• Naoko Ishihara (石原 奈央子; born 1974), Japanese sports shooter
• Naoko Kamata (鎌田 奈緒子; born 1983), Japanese former sailor
• Naoko Kamio (神尾 直子; born 1967), Japanese suit actress
• Naoko Kawai (河合 奈保子; born 1963), Japanese former pop idol, singer-songwriter, and composer
• Naoko Kawakami (川上 直子; born 1977), Japanese former football player
• Naoko Kawashima (川嶋 奈緒子; born 1981), Japanese synchronized swimmer
• Naoko Ken (研 ナオコ; born 1953), Japanese singer and actress
• Naoko Kijimuta (雉子牟田 直子; born 1972), Japanese retired tennis player
• Naoko Kodama (コダマ ナオコ), Japanese manga artist
• Naoko Kouda (幸田 直子; born 1959), Japanese voice actress
• Naoko Kumagai (熊谷 直子; born 1971), Japanese female kickboxer
• Naoko Kume (久米 直子; born 1963), Japanese swimmer
• Naoko Kurahashi Neilson, American astrophysicist and neutrino astronomer
• Naoko Kurotsuka (黒塚 直子; born 1959), Japanese artist
• Naoko Masuda (增田 尚子), Japanese former taijiquan athlete
• Naoko Matsubara (松原 直子; born 1937), Japanese-Canadian print-maker
• Naoko Matsui (松井 菜桜子; born 1961), Japanese voice actress and narrator
• Naoko Matsumoto (松本 直子; born 1968), Japanese Professor in the Department of Archaeology
• Naoko Miura (三浦 直子; born 1959), Japanese former swimmer
• Naoko Mori (森 尚子; born 1971), Japanese actress
• Naoko Moto (もと なお), Japanese manga artist
• Naoko Nishigai (西貝 尚子; born 1969), Japanese former football player
• Naoko Nozawa (野沢 直子; born 1963), Japanese comedian and musician
• Naoko Ogigami (荻上 直子; born 1972), Japanese film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
• Naoko Otani (大谷 直子; born 1950), Japanese actress
• Naoko Sahara (佐原 奈生子; born 1996), Japanese female handball player
• Naoko Saito (齋藤 尚子; born 1976), Japanese field hockey player
• Naoko Sakamoto (runner) (坂本 直子; born 1980), Japanese long-distance runner
• Naoko Sakamoto (softball) (坂本 直子; born 1985), Japanese softball player
• Naoko Sakurai (born 1953), Japanese equestrian
• Naoko Sato (佐藤 直子; born 1955), Japanese retired professional tennis player
• Naoko Sawamatsu (沢松 奈生子; born 1973), Japanese former professional tennis player
• Naoko Shibusawa (born 1964), Japanese Associate Professor of History
• Naoko Shimazu (ナオコ シマズ), Japanese Professor of History
• Naoko Shinoda (篠田 奈保子; born 1972), Japanese politician and lawyer
• Naoko Suzuki (鈴木 奈穂子; born 1982), Japanese news anchor and television personality
• Naoko Takahashi (高橋 尚子; born 1972), Japanese retired long-distance runner
• Naoko Takemoto (竹本 尚子; born 1955), Japanese chess player
• Naoko Takeuchi (武内 直子; born 1967), Japanese manga artist
• Naoko Terai (寺井 尚子; born 1967), Japanese jazz violinist
• Naoko Tosa (土佐 尚子; born 1961), Japanese media artist
• Naoko Watanabe (actress) (渡辺 奈緒子; born 1984), Japanese actress and model
• Naoko Watanabe (voice actress) (渡辺 菜生子; born 1959), Japanese voice actress
• Naoko Yabuta (薮田 尚子; born 1979), known as Orie Kimoto, Japanese actress and voice actress
• Naoko Yamada (山田 尚子), Japanese animator and director
• Naoko Yamano (山野 直子; born 1960), Japanese musician of the Japanese rock trio Shonen Knife
• Naoko Yamazaki (山崎 直子; born 1970), Japanese engineer and former astronaut
• Nahoko Hishiyama (菱山 南帆子; born 1989), Japanese feminist, constitutional protection activist, and anti-war activist
• Nahoko Kinoshita (木下 菜穂子; born 1980), Japanese actress and voice actress
• Nahoko Kojima (小島 奈保子; born 1981), Japanese paper cut artist
• Nahoko Takada (高田 なほ子; 1905–1991), Japanese educator, trade unionist, politician, socialist and peace activist
• Nahoko Uehashi (上橋 菜穂子; born 1962), Japanese writer

• 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