Discover unique Japanese surnames, each reflecting the rich cultural heritage of Japan. From nature to historical family names, explore the meanings of these beautiful, traditional Japanese surnames.
Popular Japanese Surnames and Their Meanings
- Abe (安倍) – Peace, multiple times
- Akiyama (秋山) – Autumn mountain
- Amano (天野) – Heavenly field
- Aoki (青木) – Green tree
- Arima (有馬) – Possessing a horse
- Chiba (千葉) – Thousand leaves
- Fujimoto (藤本) – Wisteria origin
- Fujimura (藤村) – Wisteria village
- Fujisawa (藤沢) – Wisteria marsh
- Fujita (藤田) – Wisteria rice field
- Fukuda (福田) – Blessed rice field
- Goto (後藤) – Behind wisteria
- Hamada (浜田) – Seashore rice field
- Hasegawa (長谷川) – Long valley river
- Hirata (平田) – Level field
- Honda (本田) – Root field
- Igarashi (五十嵐) – Fifty storms
- Inoue (井上) – Above the well
- Ishikawa (石川) – Stone river
- Ito (伊藤) – This wisteria
- Kaneko (金子) – Golden child
- Kato (加藤) – Increase wisteria
- Kawaguchi (川口) – River mouth
- Kawasaki (川崎) – River cape
- Kimura (木村) – Tree village
- Kinoshita (木下) – Below the tree
- Kobayashi (小林) – Small forest
- Kojima (小島) – Small island
- Komatsu (小松) – Little pine
- Maeda (前田) – Front field
- Matsuda (松田) – Pine field
- Matsumoto (松本) – Pine origin
- Mori (森) – Forest
- Morita (森田) – Forest rice field
- Nakamura (中村) – Central village
- Nakata (中田) – Central rice field
- Nakayama (中山) – Central mountain
- Nishida (西田) – Western rice field
- Ogasawara (小笠原) – Small bamboo grass field
- Ogawa (小川) – Small river
- Ohashi (大橋) – Large bridge
- Okada (岡田) – Hill rice field
- Sakai (酒井) – Well of sake
- Sakamoto (坂本) – Base of the hill
- Sasaki (佐々木) – Assistant
- Sato (佐藤) – Assistant wisteria
- Shimizu (清水) – Pure water
- Sugiyama (杉山) – Cedar mountain
- Suzuki (鈴木) – Bell wood
- Takahashi (高橋) – Tall bridge
Rare Japanese Surnames with Unique Meanings
- Kuroda (黒田) – Black rice field
- Matsunaga (松永) – Eternal pine
- Yamashita (山下) – Below the mountain
- Oguri (小栗) – Small chestnut
- Iwasaki (岩崎) – Stone peninsula
- Kuroiwa (黒岩) – Black rock
- Yamamoto (山本) – Mountain base
- Minami (南) – South
- Nishimura (西村) – West village
- Senda (千田) – Thousand rice fields
Unique Japanese Surnames Connected to Nature
- Tsuchiya (土屋) – Earth house
- Tanaka (田中) – Center of the rice field
- Tani (谷) – Valley
- Tanioka (谷岡) – Valley hill
- Watanabe (渡辺) – Cross the river
- Yamada (山田) – Mountain rice field
- Yamaguchi (山口) – Mountain mouth
- Yoshida (吉田) – Good rice field
- Yasuda (安田) – Peaceful rice field
- Okubo (大久保) – Large long-time protection
Surnames Related to Water
- Mizuno (水野) – Water field
- Ogawa (小川) – Small river
- Uchida (内田) – Inside the rice field
- Matsushita (松下) – Below the pine tree
- Harada (原田) – Field rice field
More Popular and Unique Japanese Surnames
- Yoshikawa (吉川) – Good river
- Murakami (村上) – Upper village
- Kitamura (北村) – North village
- Fukuyama (福山) – Blessed mountain
- Ota (太田) – Great rice field
- Hirakawa (平川) – Flat river
- Hoshino (星野) – Star field
- Kishimoto (岸本) – Shore origin
- Ishida (石田) – Stone rice field
- Takayama (高山) – High mountain
- Sugimoto (杉本) – Cedar origin
- Noguchi (野口) – Field entrance
- Suda (須田) – Field of necessity
- Hamada (浜田) – Beach field
- Ueda (上田) – Upper rice field
- Wada (和田) – Harmony rice field
- Kondo (近藤) – Nearby wisteria
- Ando (安藤) – Peaceful wisteria
- Kumagai (熊谷) – Bear valley
- Yoshimoto (吉本) – Good origin
- Takagi (高木) – Tall tree
- Ishimaru (石丸) – Round stone
- Kitagawa (北川) – North river
- Suganuma (菅沼) – Sedges swamp
- Murata (村田) – Village rice field
Surnames Based on Professions
- Takada (高田) – High rice field
- Yamane (山根) – Root of the mountain
- Inoue (井上) – Above the well
- Fujikawa (藤川) – Wisteria river
- Tsuruta (鶴田) – Crane field
Final Additions to Reach Japanese Surnames
- Nakashima (中島) – Central island
- Kubo (久保) – Long-time protection
- Kurokawa (黒川) – Black river
- Tajima (田島) – Rice island
- Miyazaki (宮崎) – Shrine peninsula
- Higashi (東) – East
- Kitagawa (北川) – North river
- Omura (大村) – Large village
- Kanda (神田) – God rice field
- Oshima (大島) – Large island
- Fukumoto (福本) – Blessed origin
- Nagata (永田) – Long rice field
- Onishi (大西) – Great west
- Hirano (平野) – Flat field
- Nakajima (中島) – Middle island
- Nakashima (中嶋) – Inner island
- Sekiguchi (関口) – Gate mouth
- Utsunomiya (宇都宮) – Shrine of the universe
- Yoshino (吉野) – Good field
- Sugano (菅野) – Field of sedges
- Kanzaki (神崎) – Shrine peninsula
- Tsuchiya (土屋) – Earth house
- Furukawa (古川) – Old river
- Hayakawa (早川) – Swift river
- Sakurai (桜井) – Cherry blossom well
