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Family-name guide

Japanese Last Names & Surnames

Explore Japanese last names—also called Japanese surnames or family names—through their kanji, literal meanings, origin types, and evidence-aware stories. A shared spelling does not prove shared ancestry.

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Japanese family names

220 matches

Surname formats

Romanized form

Ishii

Japanese form

石井

いしい

Meaning

石: stone; 井: well, well crib, town

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Surname formats

Romanized form

Ishikawa

Japanese form

石川

いしかわ

Meaning

石: stone; 川: stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Isonaka

Japanese form

磯中

いそなか

Meaning

磯: seashore, beach; 中: in, inside, middle

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Itou

Japanese form

伊藤

いとう

Meaning

伊: Italy, that one; 藤: wisteria

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Iwashinaka

Japanese form

鰯中

いわしなか

Meaning

鰯: sardine, (kokuji); 中: in, inside, middle

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kamemoto

Japanese form

穐本

かめもと

Meaning

穐: autumn; 本: book, present, main

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kameyama

Japanese form

穐山

かめやま

Meaning

穐: autumn; 山: mountain

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kaneko

Japanese form

金子

かねこ

Meaning

金: gold; 子: child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM

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Surname formats

Romanized form

Katou

Japanese form

加藤

かとう

Meaning

加: add, addition, increase; 藤: wisteria

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kimoto

Japanese form

穐本

きもと

Meaning

穐: autumn; 本: book, present, main

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kimura

Japanese form

木村

きむら

Meaning

木: tree, wood; 村: village, town

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kiyama

Japanese form

穐山

きやま

Meaning

穐: autumn; 山: mountain

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kobayashi

Japanese form

小林

こばやし

Meaning

小: little, small; 林: grove, forest

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Surname formats

Romanized form

Kondou

Japanese form

近藤

こんどう

Meaning

近: near, early, akin; 藤: wisteria

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Korebayashi

Japanese form

惟林

こればやし

Meaning

惟: consider, reflect, think; 林: grove, forest

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kumagawa

Japanese form

阿川

くまがわ

Meaning

阿: Africa, flatter, fawn upon; 川: stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Kyokugouzan

Japanese form

旭豪山

きょくごうざん

Meaning

旭: rising sun, morning sun; 豪: overpowering, great, powerful; 山: mountain

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Maeda

Japanese form

前田

まえだ

Meaning

前: in front, before; 田: rice field, rice paddy

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Makiyama

Japanese form

穐山

まきやま

Meaning

穐: autumn; 山: mountain

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Matsuda

Japanese form

松田

まつだ

Meaning

松: pine tree; 田: rice field, rice paddy

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Matsumoto

Japanese form

松本

まつもと

Meaning

松: pine tree; 本: book, present, main

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Miura

Japanese form

三浦

みうら

Meaning

三: three; 浦: bay, creek, inlet

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

Surname formats

Romanized form

Mori

Japanese form

森

もり

Meaning

森: forest, woods

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Surname formats

Romanized form

Murakami

Japanese form

村上

むらかみ

Meaning

村: village, town; 上: above, up

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Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator

What a literal meaning can tell us

Many Japanese family names use geographic vocabulary such as mountain, river, field, village, or bridge. That makes the written form interpretable, but it does not identify one birthplace or one founding family without additional records.

Why confidence labels matter

We separate well-documented history from common interpretation, multiple possible origins, literal-only explanation, and uncertainty. Regional maps appear only when a distribution source is attached.

Find a surname, then try a full name

Search by kanji, hiragana, or romaji to find a family name. Use the page links to browse the full collection, or choose “Use in generator” to keep a surname while trying different given names. Origin stories explain the available historical evidence separately from literal character meanings.