Name in Japanese C Chatham

Chatham in Japanese

チャタム
Katakana
チャタム
Hiragana
ちゃたむ
Romaji (Hepburn)
Chatamu

This is the common, natural katakana for Chatham. Katakana approximates English sounds, so a slightly different spelling can also be valid — treat this as a reliable default, not the single "correct" answer.

How Chatham sounds in Japanese

Read it one katakana at a time:

チャ Cha
Ta
Mu

Full reading: Chatamu

Do more with Chatham in Japanese

Why Chatham is written in katakana

In Japanese, foreign names are written in katakana — the angular script reserved for words borrowed from other languages. So on a form, a name tag, a delivery slip or a news article in Japan, Chatham appears as チャタム. This is the correct and respectful way a non-Japanese name is represented; it is not a kanji "translation". A Japanese reader sees チャタム and immediately reads it by its sound, Chatamu.

Katakana is a syllabary, so English sounds are fitted to the nearest Japanese syllables and every consonant (except ん) is followed by a vowel. That is why Chatham becomes チャタム rather than a letter-for-letter copy. More than one katakana spelling can be reasonable for the same name, which is why we flag whether a spelling is a long-established one or a natural default.