Sullivan in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Sullivan in katakana

• ソ (so) and ン (n) look alike. In ソ the long stroke falls from the top right; in ン it rises from the bottom left.
• Japanese has a single sound for English L and R, so both are written with the ラ-row (ra, ri, ru, re, ro).
• The V sound can be written with ヴ or with the バ-row (ba, bi, bu, be, bo). Both are accepted by the 1991 rules; the バ-row is more common in everyday writing.
• Katakana is written left to right like English, or top to bottom in vertical text. Keep every character the same size except the small ones.

Sullivan on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Sullivan → ジョン・サリバン (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: サリバン ジョン. In a フリガナ (furigana) field write it in katakana; if the field says ふりがな use hiragana (さりばん じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｻﾘﾊﾞﾝ ｼﾞｮﾝ).

Japan has no official katakana spelling for foreign names. Once you use a spelling for a bank account, phone contract or employer, keep using the same one so your records match.

FAQ

How do you write Sullivan in Japanese?

Sullivan is usually written サリバン (sariban) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see サリヴァン. In hiragana it is さりばん.

Is there a kanji for Sullivan?

No. Foreign names have no official kanji; they are written in katakana. Kanji versions offered online (ateji) are chosen only for sound and look, and their "meanings" are made up, so this site does not provide them.