75 of the Most Common Japanese Last Names and Their Meanings

Japan is a profoundly urbanized country, and one of the most densely populated. Its mountainous terrain is most widely known for its modernized technology and rich culture, which holds strong ties in ancestry as well as nature. Ancient clan names are still prominent today, if altered somewhat, due to those ties with ancestry and history. 

As you'll see, there are many variations of Japanese last names with similar meanings. The meanings that seem to present themselves most in this list are associated with rice paddies, rivers, forests and wisteria. Many of the meanings of these last names have themes in nature, others pertain to architecture or region while some can be rather straightforward, like "person from middle village." If you're curious about Japanese last names and their meaning, you've come to the right place. We have a list of the 75 most common Japanese surnames for you to read and learn! 

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75 Common Japanese Last Names and What They Mean

1. Satō

Sa means "help" or "aid" to means "wisteria" and is a reference to the Fujiwara clan from the Heian Period (see number 31!).

2. Suzuki

Suzu means "bell" and ki means "tree" or "wood."

3. Takahashi

Means "tall, high bridge."

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4. Tanaka

Means "rice field."

5. Watanabe

Means "to cross over a river."

6. Itō

Means "wisteria."

7. Yamamoto

This means "one who lives at the foot of the mountains."

8. Nakamura

Means "person from middle village."

9. Kobayashi

Means "small forest."

10. Katō

Means "wisteria."

11. Yoshida

Means "lucky rice paddy" or "good rice paddy."

12. Yamada

Means "mountain rice paddy."

13. Sasaki

Sa means "help" or "aid" and ki means "tree" or "wood."

14. Yamaguchi

Means "mountain entrance" or "entrance to the mountain forest."

15. Matsumoto

Means "place of the (divine) pine tree."

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16. Inoue

Means "above the well."

17. Kimura

Means "tree village."

18. Okamoto

Means "one who lives at the bottom of the hill."

19. Hayashi

Means "forest."

20. Mori

Also means "forest."

21. Miura

Means "three bays."

22. Oba

Means "large garden."

23. Sone

Means "root."

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24. Aoki

Means "green tree."

25. Furukawa

Means "old river."

26. Kita

Means "north."

27. Minami

Means "south."

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28. Shimizu

Means "pure water."

29. Sugiyama

Means "cedar mountain."

30. Ishida

Means "rocky rice paddy."

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31. Fujiwara

Means "wisteria plain" and is the name of the greatest noble clan of classical Japan.

32. Nishimura

Means "Western village."

33. Makino

Means "pasture field."

34. Chiba

Means "thousand leaves."

35. Andō

Originally meant "peaceful east" or "pacify the east" but now more so means "peaceful wisteria."

36. Nakayama

Means "central mountain."

37. Tamura

Means "rice paddy village" or "large rice paddy."

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38. Miyamoto

Means "one who lives near the shrine." 

39. Ikeda

Means "rice paddy near the lake."

40. Akiyama

Means "autumn mountain."

41. Kudō

Means "artisan" and "wisteria."

42. Fujita

Means "wisteria rice paddy."

43. Abe

A means "peace" and be means "multiple times."

44. Nakagawa

Means "middle river."

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45. Nakajima

Means "middle island."

46. Nishikawa

Means "western river."

47. Chisaka

Means "one thousand hills."

48. Mochizuki

Means "full moon."

49. Hirano

Means "peaceful wilderness."

50. Agawa

Means "corner of a river or stream."

51. Gotō

Means "road" or "way" and can refer to a physical road, or a concept of the way to do something.

52. Sakai

Means "border" or "territory."

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53. Hashimoto

Means "base of bridge."

54. Omori

Means "large grove."

55. Matsuda

Means "pine tree rice paddy."

56. Takagi

Means "tall tree."

57. Hara

Means "meadow."

58. Hasegawa

Means "long valley river."

59. Nakano

Means "central field."

60. Kojima

Means "small island."

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61. Fukuda

Means "blessed rice paddy."

62. Takeuchi

Means "within bamboo" or "warrior household."

63. Wada

Means "harmonious rice paddy."

64.  Shima

Means "island."

65. Miyazaki

Miya means "temple", "shrine" or "palace" and saki or zaki means "cape" or "peninsula."

66. Harada

Means "field rice" or "from Hara."

67. Okada

Means "rice paddy on the hill."

68. Murakami

Means "above the village."

69. Uchida

Means "inner rice paddy" or a field within an enclosure.

70. Ishii

Originally meaning "resides in a rocky place" Ishii also means "rock well" in more modern times.

71. Ohara

Means "great plain."

72. Fujii

Means "wisteria well."

73. Sakamoto

Means "one who lives at the bottom of the slope."

74. Yamazaki

Means "mountain promontory."

75. Yamashita

Means "one who lives below the mountain."

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