Name in Japanese M Mervin

Mervin in Japanese

マービン
Katakana
マービン
Hiragana
まーびん
Romaji (Hepburn)
Mābin

This is the common, natural katakana for Mervin. 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 Mervin sounds in Japanese

Read it one katakana at a time:

マー
Bi
N

Full reading: Mābin

Do more with Mervin in Japanese

Why Mervin 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, Mervin appears as マービン. This is the correct and respectful way a non-Japanese name is represented; it is not a kanji "translation". A Japanese reader sees マービン and immediately reads it by its sound, Mābin.

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 Mervin becomes マービン 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.