Kaoru is a Japanese given name for males or females. Name Meanings The name's meaning varies depending on its written form: 薫/郁/芳 — "fragrance", common for both males and females 馨/香 — "fragrance", more common for females かおる — purely phonetic form in hiragana; no inherent meaning かをる — same as above, using を as an archaic substitute for お カオル — phonetic form in katakana As a distinctly unisex name, its usage in popular culture has risen in recent years to give the named character an air of androgyny. Such characters commonly have overt androgynous qualities as well. A similar name, in terms of both pronunciation and meaning, is Kaori. It is used exclusively for females. People Kaoru 薫 (m) (one of the guitarists of Dir En Grey) Kaoru Abe 阿部薫 (m) (free Jazz saxophonist) , Japanese film director, producer and editor Kaoru Fujino かほる (voice actor) , Japanese speed skater Kaoru Hasuike 薫 (m) (academic, writer, translator, and Japanese national once abducted by North Korea) Kaoru Ide, Japanese architect Kaoru Ikeya 薫 (m) (astronomer) Kaoru Inoue 馨 (m) (statesman) Kaoru Ishibashi (m) (musician, Kishi Bashi) Kaoru Ishikawa (m) (business theorist, developer of the Ishikawa diagram) , Japanese musician Kaoru Kobayashi (m) (actor) Kaoru Maeda 薫 (f) (professional wrestler) , Japanese sport shooter Kaoru Mitoma (m), Japanese footballer Kaoru Mori 薫 (f) (manga author) , Japanese lawyer and judge , Japanese voice actress Kaoru Sugayama かおる (f) (volleyball player) , Japanese novelist and essayist , Japanese footballer Kaoru Uno 薫 (m) (mixed martial artist) Kaoru Usui 薫 (m) (photographer) Kaoru Kimura (f) Japanese astronomy educator; President, International Planetarium Society 2021-22 Kaoru Wada 薫 (m) (composer) , Japanese basketball player Kaoru Yosano 馨 (m) (politician) Fictional characters Kaoru (f) - Rilakkuma and Kaoru Kaoru Toki 時 カオル (f) - Seitokai Yakuindomo Kaoru (m) - Uninhabited Planet Survive! Kaoru Akashi (f) - Zettai Karen Children Kaoru (f) - Daughter of Smoke and Bone Kaoru Amane 薫 (f) - Taiyou no Uta Kaoru Asahina (m) - Junjo Romantica Fujiwara no Kaoru a.k.a. Murasaki Shikibu (m) - Akane-sasu Sekai de Kimi to Utau Kaoru Genji 薫 (m) - Tale of Genji Kaoru Hanabishi (m) - Ai Yori Aoshi Kaoru Hitachiin 馨 (m) - Ouran High School Host Club Kaoru Hondobou (m) - Gyakuten Saiban 3 Kaoru Kaidoh 薫 (m) - Prince of Tennis Kaoru Kameyama (m) - Aibō Kaoru Kamiya 薫 (f) -