Kenta is a masculine Japanese given name with a range of possible meanings depending on the kanji characters used to write it. The most common representation is 健太, where the first character ken (健) means "healthy, strong" and the second ta (太) means "thick, big, great". Other writings include 建太 (built/big), 研太 (polished/big), and 賢太 (wise/big), as well as 廉侍 (pure/samurai). The name is also frequently written in katakana as ケンタ. Notable bearerns Numerous Japanese athletes, entertainers, and public figures bear the name Kenta. In sports, notable bearers include Kenta Maeda (born 1988), a professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers; Kenta Kobashi (born 1967), a legendary professional wrestler; and Kenta Matsudaira (born 1991), a table tennis player and Olympian. In entertainment, umbrella include Kenta Miyake (born 1977), a prolific voice actor known for roles in animated series; Kenta Fukasaku (born 1972), a film director; and Kenta Kataoka (born 1985), lead vocalist of the rock band sumika. Cultural and linguistic context The name Kenta exemplifies a common pattern in Japanese naming: the combination of a first element expressing a positive quality with a second element (often -ta or -da) conveying magnitude or boldness. This formula yields other theophoronym-like names such as Taichi (big first) or Kouta (big gleam). As one of the two million masculine given names in Japan, Kenta both conventional longevity and normative expectations of strength and health. Meaning: “healthy/strong (ken) + great/big (ta)” and other kanji combinations Origin: Japanese Type: Given name Usage regions: Japan (masculine)