While Hiragana is used primarily for Japanese words, Katakana is use mostly for western words and names. The Katakana alphabet also represents individual sounds in the language, albiet with a different set of symbols.
Kanji is something entirely different. Kanji characters represent ideas rather than sounds. While kanji are pronounced in a particular way, they are not used to represent sounds. In fact, a single Kanji character usually has a very complex meaning - sometimes not even accurately explainable in many English words!
This sometimes makes translation from Japanese to English very difficult. Translators often have to think very carefully to find a suitable "close enough" translation, which may not be "direct" translation.
Japanese calligraphy is also very interesting! An artist's interpretation of a kanji or famous saying can be very difficult to distinquish - even for native Japanese speakers.
Western names are not normally translated intoKanji symbols. They are written in Katakana symbols, which are used for foreign names and most products originally made in foreign lands, such as computers and spaghetti.
Some people are more interested in seeing their names in Kanji, not Katakana, so Kanji names can be created just for fun. When possible, the translator tries to find the symbols based on the meaning of the English name. Often, however, it is not possible, or not appropriate, because original meaning of the name is simply not suitable word to be used as a name. For example, if the original meaning of your name is blacksmith, and you are not a blacksmith, most people would not want it tattooed on their body! So if this is the case, names are translated based on the sound of the name.
