Surname formats
Romanized form
Nakagawa
Japanese form
中川
なかがわ
Meaning
中: in, inside, middle; 川: stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
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.
Japanese family names
220 matchesSurname formats
Romanized form
Nakajima
Japanese form
中島
なかじま
Meaning
中: in, inside, middle; 島: island
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Nakano
Japanese form
中野
なかの
Meaning
中: in, inside, middle; 野: plains, field, rustic
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Nakayama
Japanese form
中山
なかやま
Meaning
中: in, inside, middle; 山: mountain
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Nishimura
Japanese form
西村
にしむら
Meaning
西: west, Spain; 村: village, town
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Ogawa
Japanese form
小川
おがわ
Meaning
小: little, small; 川: stream, river, river or three-stroke river radical (no. 47)
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Okada
Japanese form
岡田
おかだ
Meaning
岡: mount, hill, knoll; 田: rice field, rice paddy
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Okamoto
Japanese form
岡本
おかもと
Meaning
岡: mount, hill, knoll; 本: book, present, main
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Ono
Japanese form
小野
おの
Meaning
小: little, small; 野: plains, field, rustic
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Oota
Japanese form
太田
おおた
Meaning
太: plump, thick, big around; 田: rice field, rice paddy
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Saitou
Japanese form
斎藤
さいとう
Meaning
斎: purification, Buddhist food, room; 藤: wisteria
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Saitou
Japanese form
斉藤
さいとう
Meaning
斉: adjusted, alike, equal; 藤: wisteria
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Sakamoto
Japanese form
坂本
さかもと
Meaning
坂: slope, incline, hill; 本: book, present, main
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Sasaki
Japanese form
佐々木
ささき
Meaning
佐: assistant, help; 木: tree, wood
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Shimizu
Japanese form
清水
しみず
Meaning
清: pure, purify, cleanse; 水: water
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Takeuchi
Japanese form
竹内
たけうち
Meaning
竹: bamboo; 内: inside, within, between
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Tamenaka
Japanese form
為中
ためなか
Meaning
為: do, change, make; 中: in, inside, middle
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Tamura
Japanese form
田村
たむら
Meaning
田: rice field, rice paddy; 村: village, town
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Ueda
Japanese form
上田
うえだ
Meaning
上: above, up; 田: rice field, rice paddy
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Wada
Japanese form
和田
わだ
Meaning
和: harmony, Japanese style, peace; 田: rice field, rice paddy
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Watanabe
Japanese form
渡辺
わたなべ
Meaning
渡: transit, ford, ferry; 辺: environs, boundary, border
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Yamada
Japanese form
山田
やまだ
Meaning
山: mountain; 田: rice field, rice paddy
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Yamaguchi
Japanese form
山口
やまぐち
Meaning
山: mountain; 口: mouth
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
Origin not inferred from kanjiUse in generator
Surname formats
Romanized form
Yamashita
Japanese form
山下
やました
Meaning
山: mountain; 下: below, down, descend
Source-backed recordunrankeduncertain
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.