Japanese surnames are short, sharp, and full of meaning. Many come from nature, old villages, and ancient clans. This guide gives you 940+ Japanese last names to explore in one place.
Most Japanese family names use two kanji. Each kanji adds a clear idea, like a river, a field, or a mountain. That is why names like Tanaka and Yamamoto are so easy to picture.
Here you will find common, rare, cute, and samurai surnames. You will also learn their history and how to say them. Use the lists for stories, games, baby naming, or plain curiosity.
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Most Popular Japanese Last Names on FamilyEducation
- Sato
- Suzuki
- Takahashi
- Tanaka
- Watanabe
- Ito
- Yamamoto
- Nakamura
- Kobayashi
- Kato
- Yoshida
- Yamada
- Sasaki
- Yamaguchi
- Matsumoto
- Inoue
- Kimura
- Hayashi
- Shimizu
- Yamazaki
- Mori
- Abe
- Ikeda
- Hashimoto
- Yamashita
- Ishikawa
- Nakajima
- Maeda
- Fujita
- Ogawa
- Goto
- Okada
- Hasegawa
- Murakami
- Kondo
- Ishii
- Saito
- Sakamoto
- Endo
- Aoki
- Fujii
- Nishimura
- Fukuda
- Ota
- Miura
- Fujiwara
- Okamoto
- Matsuda
- Nakagawa
- Nakano
- Harada
- Ono
- Tamura
- Takeuchi
- Kaneko
- Wada
- Nakayama
- Ishida
- Ueda
- Morita
- Hara
- Shibata
- Sakai
- Kudo
- Yokoyama
- Miyazaki
- Miyamoto
- Uchida
- Takagi
- Ando
| Typical Rank | Surname | Kanji | Meaning |
| 1 | Sato | 佐藤 | Assist + wisteria |
| 2 | Suzuki | 鈴木 | Bell + tree |
| 3 | Takahashi | 高橋 | Tall bridge |
| 4 | Tanaka | 田中 | In the rice field |
| 5 | Ito | 伊藤 | That one + wisteria |
| 6 | Watanabe | 渡辺 | Cross over + vicinity |
| 7 | Yamamoto | 山本 | Base of the mountain |
| 8 | Nakamura | 中村 | Middle village |
| 9 | Kobayashi | 小林 | Small woods |
| 10 | Kato | 加藤 | Add + wisteria |
History of Japanese Surnames
- Fujiwara
- Minamoto
- Taira
- Tachibana
- Sugawara
- Ariwara
- Soga
- Mononobe
- Otomo
- Nakatomi
- Kamo
- Hata
- Yamato
- Izumo
- Kibi
- Oe
- Kiyohara
- Miyoshi
- Hojo
- Ashikaga
- Tokugawa
- Oda
- Toyotomi
- Takeda
- Uesugi
- Imagawa
- Shimazu
- Date
- Hosokawa
- Maeda
- Chosokabe
- Ouchi
- Asakura
- Azai
- Akechi
- Sanada
- Ii
- Honda
- Hattori
- Matsudaira
- Nitta
- Kikuchi
- Chiba
- Kasai
- Satake
- Nanbu
- Mogami
- Ogasawara
- Rokkaku
- Togashi
- Yamana
- Hatakeyama
- Isshiki
- Akamatsu
- Kyogoku
- Toki
- Shiba
- Kusunoki
- Yagyu
- Katsura
- Saigo
- Okubo
- Kuroda
- Sakai
- Asano
- Oishi
- Mori
- Kondo
- Taniguchi
- Imai
| Period | What Changed | Example Surnames |
| Nara and Heian (710–1185) | Court families and clans passed down their names | Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira, Tachibana |
| Kamakura to Sengoku (1185–1600) | Warriors took names from the lands they ruled | Takeda, Uesugi, Hojo, Shimazu |
| Edo (1603–1868) | Samurai and some privileged commoners used surnames | Tokugawa, Date, Maeda |
| Early Meiji (1870) | Commoners were allowed to take family names | Tanaka, Yamada, Hayashi |
| Meiji (1875) | Every person had to register a surname | Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi |
| Modern Japan | Married couples must share one surname by law | Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi |
Common Japanese Surnames and Meanings
- Taniguchi
- Imai
- Takada
- Maruyama
- Masuda
- Sugiyama
- Murata
- Ueno
- Kojima
- Kikuchi
- Sugimoto
- Iwasaki
- Noguchi
- Oishi
- Sano
- Konishi
- Chiba
- Matsui
- Iwata
- Nomura
- Nakata
- Hirano
- Kubo
- Ohno
- Tsuchiya
- Kawaguchi
- Sekiguchi
- Arai
- Tsukamoto
- Yasuda
- Kawakami
- Hoshino
- Inagaki
- Mizuno
- Kawamura
- Funakoshi
- Morimoto
- Hirose
- Kuroda
- Ogura
- Yoshikawa
- Okubo
- Ozawa
- Ichikawa
- Kanai
- Higuchi
- Sugawara
- Tomita
- Nagai
- Kuwabara
- Furukawa
- Hamada
- Nagata
- Shinohara
- Iida
- Honda
- Okuda
- Yano
- Kita
- Takeda
- Nishida
- Tsuji
- Kamiya
- Katayama
- Nakai
- Yamauchi
- Kurokawa
- Shimada
- Ohashi
- Satake
Nature Inspired Japanese Surnames
Nature shaped many Japanese family names. Villages took their names from the hills, rivers, and trees around them.
Below you will find three groups. Each one has 70 names tied to the land.
Mountain and Sky Names
- Yamamoto
- Yamashita
- Yamada
- Yamaguchi
- Yamazaki
- Yamane
- Yamaoka
- Yamauchi
- Yamagishi
- Yamaji
- Yamanaka
- Yamagata
- Yamamura
- Yamakawa
- Yamagami
- Fujiyama
- Takayama
- Oyama
- Koyama
- Kuroyama
- Shiroyama
- Nakayama
- Higashiyama
- Nishiyama
- Minamiyama
- Kitayama
- Iwayama
- Matsuyama
- Sugiyama
- Hirayama
- Ueyama
- Okayama
- Takano
- Takamine
- Mine
- Minemura
- Mineta
- Amano
- Amamiya
- Amagai
- Amakusa
- Amaya
- Hoshino
- Hoshi
- Hoshikawa
- Hoshizaki
- Hoshiyama
- Hoshimura
- Ozora
- Kumoi
- Asahina
- Asahi
- Kirishima
- Kiriyama
- Kirihara
- Kasumi
- Arashiyama
- Tsukiyama
- Higashi
- Kamiyama
- Takamura
- Sorano
- Kumoda
- Hinode
- Fujisawa
- Taniguchi
- Imai
- Takada
- Maruyama
- Masuda
River and Water Names
- Kawamura
- Kawakami
- Kawasaki
- Kawaguchi
- Kawada
- Kawai
- Kawano
- Kawahara
- Kawashima
- Kawamoto
- Kawabata
- Kawakita
- Ogawa
- Nakagawa
- Yoshikawa
- Ishikawa
- Kitagawa
- Minagawa
- Tagawa
- Hirakawa
- Sawada
- Sawa
- Sawai
- Sawaki
- Sawamura
- Sawayama
- Izumi
- Izumida
- Mizuno
- Mizuta
- Mizushima
- Mizutani
- Mizuguchi
- Mizuhara
- Mizusawa
- Shimizu
- Ikeda
- Ikegami
- Ikeuchi
- Ikehata
- Ikemoto
- Ikeno
- Ikeya
- Umino
- Hamada
- Hamano
- Hamaguchi
- Hamamoto
- Hamasaki
- Minato
- Shiono
- Fuchigami
- Takigawa
- Takizawa
- Takita
- Takinami
- Namikawa
- Numata
- Numazawa
- Fukagawa
- Kamogawa
- Tonegawa
- Arakawa
- Nagawa
- Oikawa
- Tanigawa
- Segawa
- Sugimoto
- Iwasaki
- Noguchi
Forest and Flora Names
- Hayashi
- Kobayashi
- Mori
- Morita
- Morimoto
- Moriyama
- Morioka
- Morishita
- Morishima
- Morikawa
- Morisaki
- Morinaga
- Kinoshita
- Kimura
- Matsumoto
- Matsuda
- Matsui
- Matsuura
- Matsushita
- Matsuoka
- Matsuzaki
- Matsunaga
- Matsuyama
- Matsubara
- Matsuo
- Matsukawa
- Takeda
- Takeuchi
- Takemoto
- Takeshita
- Takei
- Takenaka
- Takezawa
- Takebayashi
- Umeda
- Umemoto
- Umezawa
- Umehara
- Sakurai
- Sakuraba
- Sakurada
- Fujita
- Fujii
- Fujimoto
- Fujiwara
- Fujioka
- Hanada
- Hanai
- Hanazawa
- Hanaoka
- Kusano
- Kusakabe
- Sugimoto
- Sugiyama
- Sugita
- Sugiura
- Sugihara
- Kashiwa
- Kashiwagi
- Kashiwabara
- Kikuchi
- Kikuta
- Kikukawa
- Nashimoto
- Tsubaki
- Wakabayashi
- Kuribayashi
- Nakata
- Hirano
- Kubo
Regional Japanese Last Names
Surnames in Japan often change from region to region. Old clans and local places left their mark on family names.
Here are three regional lists. Each one picks names tied to that part of the country.
Names from Eastern Japan (Kanto and Tohoku)
- Sato
- Suzuki
- Abe
- Saito
- Kikuchi
- Sasaki
- Chiba
- Endo
- Konno
- Kanno
- Ito
- Takahashi
- Shoji
- Ono
- Oikawa
- Seki
- Kudo
- Nitta
- Satake
- Kumagai
- Sakai
- Ouchi
- Tamura
- Hoshino
- Aizawa
- Inomata
- Kosugi
- Kanazawa
- Narita
- Shimoyama
- Ichinose
- Hatakeyama
- Nanbu
- Date
- Mogami
- Kasai
- Oyama
- Ashikaga
- Hojo
- Yuki
- Utsunomiya
- Ota
- Hatano
- Tsuchiya
- Sekine
- Shibusawa
- Tokugawa
- Kikuta
- Kakizaki
- Sawada
- Hiraizumi
- Fujiwara
- Akita
- Nambu
- Tsugaru
- Ando
- Yoshino
- Kurosawa
- Fukushima
- Ishikawa
- Sugawara
- Ogasawara
- Kimura
- Sakurai
- Nakajima
- Nemoto
- Kawakami
- Inagaki
- Mizuno
- Kawamura
Names from Western Japan (Kansai and Chugoku)
- Nishimura
- Kitamura
- Yamanaka
- Takagi
- Fukui
- Tsuji
- Nakai
- Fujii
- Hirai
- Ono
- Ueda
- Nakagawa
- Sakamoto
- Okamoto
- Kyogoku
- Yamana
- Hata
- Kamo
- Minami
- Nakanishi
- Nishioka
- Nishiyama
- Taniguchi
- Nakatani
- Yoshimura
- Matsunaga
- Nakamoto
- Konishi
- Kozuka
- Ogura
- Azuma
- Kikkawa
- Kobayakawa
- Amago
- Ouchi
- Sue
- Yoshimi
- Masuda
- Fukuhara
- Mori
- Hirose
- Okayama
- Kurahashi
- Tamba
- Hyodo
- Tottori
- Wakayama
- Himeji
- Kishimoto
- Hamada
- Shiraishi
- Hosokawa
- Akamatsu
- Miyoshi
- Kuroda
- Ikeda
- Hori
- Kimura
- Tanabe
- Arima
- Inoue
- Ichikawa
- Naito
- Kumagai
- Yoshikawa
- Okubo
- Ozawa
- Kanai
- Higuchi
- Sugawara
Names from Southern Japan (Kyushu and Okinawa)
- Higa
- Miyagi
- Kinjo
- Shimabukuro
- Arakaki
- Gushiken
- Oshiro
- Taira
- Nakasone
- Tamaki
- Uehara
- Kochi
- Chinen
- Tomori
- Ginoza
- Kuniyoshi
- Kina
- Zamami
- Uechi
- Yara
- Agena
- Nakama
- Yonamine
- Toma
- Shimajiri
- Maeshiro
- Teruya
- Kakazu
- Nakandakari
- Miyazato
- Tamashiro
- Gima
- Yamashiro
- Higashionna
- Nago
- Onaga
- Shinzato
- Ikehara
- Shimazu
- Otomo
- Ryuzoji
- Nabeshima
- Kikuchi
- Hyuga
- Kirishima
- Tashiro
- Matsuo
- Kawano
- Kajiwara
- Kuwabara
- Nomura
- Fukuda
- Ito
- Kuroda
- Hosokawa
- Arakawa
- Kunigami
- Kanna
- Yoshimoto
- Sakihama
- Nakaima
- Miyahira
- Toguchi
- Tokuyama
- Tamanaha
- Takara
- Furukawa
- Hamada
- Nagata
- Shinohara
Famous Japanese Names From Literature and Games
- Uzumaki
- Uchiha
- Hatake
- Hyuga
- Nara
- Sarutobi
- Aburame
- Inuzuka
- Akimichi
- Yamanaka
- Haruno
- Kamado
- Agatsuma
- Hashibira
- Tomioka
- Kocho
- Rengoku
- Himejima
- Tokito
- Shinazugawa
- Kanroji
- Kirigaya
- Natsume
- Akutagawa
- Mishima
- Kawabata
- Tanizaki
- Murakami
- Oe
- Yoshimoto
- Miyazawa
- Shiga
- Higuchi
- Kusanagi
- Yagami
- Kira
- Ayanokoji
- Shimura
- Sakata
- Kamiya
- Okita
- Hijikata
- Kurosaki
- Kuchiki
- Abarai
- Hitsugaya
- Ichimaru
- Kyoraku
- Ukitake
- Zaraki
- Katsuragi
- Ikari
- Soryu
- Ayanami
- Nagato
- Suzumiya
- Araragi
- Hanekawa
- Kazama
- Heihachi
- Tatsumaki
- Genji
- Ryuzaki
- Kujo
- Yuki
- Shimada
- Kisaragi
- Takamachi
- Fate
- Nishida
Male Japanese Last Names
- Kurogane
- Washio
- Tsurugi
- Kuroki
- Kagami
- Takigawa
- Ryuzaki
- Tatsumi
- Kanzaki
- Kujo
- Daidoji
- Ishimaru
- Kurosawa
- Hagiwara
- Takakura
- Kamiya
- Ogami
- Daimon
- Shindo
- Kuramoto
- Toraoka
- Tsukioka
- Iwasaki
- Kusanagi
- Munakata
- Gouda
- Banjo
- Kongo
- Tendo
- Washizu
- Ikeda
- Iwaki
- Ishikawa
- Takeda
- Saeki
- Sakaki
- Kuwahara
- Kajiwara
- Kimura
- Onishi
- Hyodo
- Yagyu
- Hattori
- Tokugawa
- Hiryu
- Raiden
- Ushio
- Daigo
- Gotoh
- Okabe
- Hibiki
- Nagase
- Takasugi
- Kurodo
- Tachibana
- Mikado
- Shishido
- Gekko
- Tanba
- Ozaki
- Wakatsuki
- Hozumi
- Kamui
- Kuroda
- Honjo
- Miyata
- Ishihara
- Anzai
- Kawai
- Tajima
Female Japanese Last Names
- Hanazono
- Sakurai
- Hanamura
- Tsubaki
- Himeno
- Shiraishi
- Shirakawa
- Yukimura
- Hoshino
- Kotobuki
- Suzumori
- Umemoto
- Tsukishiro
- Hanabusa
- Harukawa
- Amamiya
- Asahina
- Shiratori
- Himekawa
- Kanzaki
- Natsume
- Fuyuki
- Akizuki
- Haruyama
- Momoi
- Momose
- Momota
- Hanasaki
- Suzuhara
- Mochizuki
- Kikuchi
- Himuro
- Aihara
- Hinata
- Shirogane
- Mizuki
- Minase
- Sasaki
- Tachibana
- Asano
- Yamabuki
- Kagura
- Morikawa
- Nagisa
- Kotori
- Shinozaki
- Fujimiya
- Kisaragi
- Kasumi
- Yoshino
- Chitose
- Koizumi
- Midorikawa
- Amano
- Umino
- Sakuma
- Aoi
- Wakaba
- Hinode
- Izumi
- Tsukimiya
- Asakura
- Hanayagi
- Sumire
- Kikukawa
- Uehara
- Tokunaga
- Hamamoto
- Ogata
- Mizuta
Cool and Unique Japanese Last Names
- Kagetsu
- Kurenai
- Tsukuyomi
- Kirishima
- Shirogane
- Kuroshima
- Hyodo
- Hiiragi
- Tendo
- Kurogane
- Gojo
- Zenin
- Kujo
- Kirihara
- Shirasagi
- Himuro
- Ashikaga
- Ibuki
- Kagura
- Narukami
- Samejima
- Mikado
- Ryugasaki
- Hakamada
- Kisaragi
- Mikazuki
- Yatogami
- Raikou
- Kuroneko
- Kagehara
- Ryuzaki
- Tsukishima
- Shinomiya
- Mikage
- Hoshizaki
- Kurosu
- Ogiwara
- Fubuki
- Arashi
- Raijin
- Kaminari
- Ryujin
- Hayate
- Tatsunami
- Seiryu
- Byakuya
- Genbu
- Suzaku
- Hiryu
- Kazehaya
- Kirigakure
- Kagero
- Hotaru
- Akatsuki
- Yozora
- Shiranui
- Tsurugi
- Aizen
- Yamabuki
- Reizei
- Nanase
- Saionji
- Hakuryu
- Eiji
- Kanda
- Kishi
- Kuribayashi
- Nagasawa
- Yamane
- Iwamoto
Warrior and Samurai Japanese Last Names
- Oda
- Toyotomi
- Tokugawa
- Takeda
- Uesugi
- Date
- Sanada
- Honda
- Ii
- Hattori
- Yagyu
- Kondo
- Hijikata
- Okita
- Saito
- Sakamoto
- Katsura
- Takasugi
- Saigo
- Okubo
- Kuroda
- Shimazu
- Mori
- Akechi
- Ishida
- Kato
- Fukushima
- Kobayakawa
- Chosokabe
- Sasaki
- Tsukahara
- Kamiizumi
- Yamamoto
- Minamoto
- Taira
- Kusunoki
- Nitta
- Ashikaga
- Hojo
- Hosokawa
- Maeda
- Nabeshima
- Asano
- Oishi
- Hatakeyama
- Hori
- Yamaoka
- Toda
- Sakai
- Matsudaira
- Miyamoto
- Musashi
- Kojiro
- Ito
- Nagao
- Kakizaki
- Bessho
- Imagawa
- Asai
- Asakura
- Mitsunari
- Shibata
- Niwa
- Ikeda
- Fukuzawa
- Nakagawa
- Shinmen
- Kuki
- Hachisuka
- Yamagata
Royal and Noble Japanese Last Names
- Fujiwara
- Konoe
- Kujo
- Nijo
- Ichijo
- Takatsukasa
- Saionji
- Sanjo
- Tokudaiji
- Kazanin
- Ogimachi
- Reizei
- Fushimi
- Arisugawa
- Kanin
- Yamashina
- Kitashirakawa
- Kuni
- Nashimoto
- Takeda
- Asaka
- Higashikuni
- Kaya
- Tokugawa
- Matsudaira
- Shimazu
- Mori
- Date
- Hosokawa
- Maeda
- Nabeshima
- Ii
- Sakai
- Ikeda
- Kuroda
- Hachisuka
- Yamanouchi
- Todo
- Tsugaru
- Nanbu
- Satake
- Arima
- Kyogoku
- Rokkaku
- Minamoto
- Taira
- Tachibana
- Sugawara
- Abe
- Kamo
- Otomo
- Soga
- Nakatomi
- Mononobe
- Ariwara
- Oe
- Kiyohara
- Hino
- Karasumaru
- Nakayama
- Sanjonishi
- Washinoo
- Ayanokoji
- Reizeiin
- Madenokoji
- Yoshida
- Rokujo
- Ohara
- Yokota
- Nozaki
Traditional and Classic Japanese Last Names
- Tanaka
- Yamada
- Hayashi
- Kimura
- Matsumoto
- Sato
- Ito
- Takahashi
- Ono
- Mori
- Kikuchi
- Sakai
- Hara
- Ikeda
- Fujita
- Inoue
- Kondo
- Murata
- Okada
- Nomura
- Kojima
- Ueda
- Maeda
- Sugimoto
- Nakai
- Hirano
- Kuwabara
- Nagata
- Shimizu
- Yamamoto
- Sano
- Hasegawa
- Kubo
- Kuroda
- Higuchi
- Tsuchiya
- Noguchi
- Taniguchi
- Oishi
- Iwata
- Tomita
- Imai
- Furukawa
- Honda
- Yano
- Iida
- Kita
- Takeda
- Nishida
- Ohashi
- Shimada
- Satake
- Miyata
- Ishihara
- Kawai
- Tajima
- Haga
- Oka
- Hirata
- Terada
- Kanda
- Hori
- Shiraishi
- Takano
- Yamaoka
- Imamura
- Furuta
- Okazaki
- Kitamura
- Yoshioka
Japanese Names Inspired by Other Cultures
- Hata
- Aya
- Kudara
- Koma
- Kara
- Shiragi
- Imaki
- Miura
- Kayano
- Chiri
- Kannari
- Ogasawara
- Nakahama
- Hamada
- Higa
- Gusukuma
- Kochi
- Ginowan
- Urasoe
- Naha
- Nago
- Soga
- Yamatobe
- Hasebe
- Kawachi
- Asuka
- Nara
- Ryukyu
- Shuri
- Shimabukuro
- Tomari
- Kume
- Okinawa
- Kinjo
- Chinen
- Taira
- Miyagi
- Uehara
- Oshiro
- Gima
- Kuniyoshi
- Matsuda
- Tsuchiya
- Yagi
- Hirata
- Yoshida
- Higashi
- Nishi
- Kita
- Minami
- Ishigaki
- Miyako
- Yaeyama
- Iriomote
- Tokashiki
- Kerama
- Amami
- Tokara
- Oshima
- Kikai
- Yoron
- Henza
- Hamahiga
- Yabiku
- Ikei
- Matsuura
- Yanagida
- Obata
- Oda
- Toyoda
Japanese Naming Traditions and Lore
- Abe
- Kamo
- Watanabe
- Sakata
- Urashima
- Tawara
- Usui
- Urabe
- Onizuka
- Onitsuka
- Oniwa
- Oniki
- Kitsune
- Tanuma
- Kannushi
- Miyaji
- Miyake
- Jinguji
- Jingu
- Kamikawa
- Kamiya
- Ujiie
- Inaba
- Inari
- Kuzunoha
- Kaguya
- Takehara
- Tengu
- Kappa
- Ryujin
- Tatsumi
- Kamino
- Shinto
- Miko
- Hoshino
- Kagura
- Tsukumo
- Amaterasu
- Susano
- Izanagi
- Yamato
- Izumo
- Hyuga
- Takachiho
- Kashima
- Kasuga
- Ise
- Miwa
- Atsuta
- Suwa
- Hachiman
- Kumano
- Itsukushima
- Ogami
- Nakatomi
- Imbe
- Yasaka
- Hirota
- Sumiyoshi
- Munakata
- Aso
- Hikawa
- Oyama
- Kitano
- Fushimi
- Tsurugaoka
- Asano
- Fukuoka
- Kasai
- Kanazawa
Japanese Last Names With Meaning
| Surname | Kanji | Meaning | Type |
| Tanaka | 田中 | In the rice field | Place |
| Yamamoto | 山本 | Base of the mountain | Nature |
| Hayashi | 林 | Woods | Nature |
| Mori | 森 | Forest | Nature |
| Ishikawa | 石川 | Stone river | Nature |
| Kawamura | 川村 | River village | Place |
| Matsumoto | 松本 | Base of the pine | Nature |
| Takeda | 竹田 | Bamboo field | Nature |
| Ogawa | 小川 | Small river | Nature |
| Inoue | 井上 | Above the well | Place |
| Kimura | 木村 | Tree village | Place |
| Shimizu | 清水 | Clear water | Nature |
| Hoshino | 星野 | Star field | Sky |
| Tsukimoto | 月本 | Base of the moon | Sky |
| Sakurai | 桜井 | Cherry blossom well | Nature |
| Kuroda | 黒田 | Black field | Color |
| Akagi | 赤木 | Red tree | Color |
| Hirose | 広瀬 | Wide shallows | Water |
| Ueda | 上田 | Upper field | Place |
| Fukuda | 福田 | Lucky field | Good Luck |
| Kikuchi | 菊池 | Chrysanthemum pond | Nature |
| Mochizuki | 望月 | Full moon | Sky |
| Amano | 天野 | Heavenly field | Sky |
| Kitagawa | 北川 | North river | Direction |
| Fujiwara | 藤原 | Wisteria field | Clan |
| Minamoto | 源 | Source or origin | Clan |
| Taira | 平 | Peace or flat land | Clan |
| Kageyama | 影山 | Shadow mountain | Dark |
| Onizuka | 鬼塚 | Demon mound | Dark |
| Sakamoto | 坂本 | Base of the slope | Place |
Japanese Last Names – Best Ideas
- Seto
- Takai
- Takemoto
- Ishizaki
- Yamagishi
- Tanabe
- Tsutsumi
- Tani
- Sawada
- Hino
- Ikegami
- Inaba
- Miyashita
- Hayakawa
- Shirai
- Akiyama
- Arima
- Asakura
- Azuma
- Baba
- Daigo
- Doi
- Eguchi
- Ejima
- Emori
- Enomoto
- Fujimura
- Fujimoto
- Fukazawa
- Fukumoto
- Fukuyama
- Furusawa
- Gondo
- Hagiwara
- Haneda
- Hanada
- Harano
- Hatta
- Hayase
- Hidaka
- Higashi
- Hiraga
- Hirayama
- Hirota
- Hisamatsu
- Hongo
- Horie
- Horiuchi
- Hoshi
- Hosoi
- Hosoya
- Ichihara
- Ichimura
- Igarashi
- Ikeuchi
- Imaizumi
- Inamura
- Inokuchi
- Irie
- Isobe
- Itagaki
- Iwama
- Iwano
- Izumi
- Kagawa
- Kajiwara
- Kamimura
- Kanno
- Kashiwagi
- Kasuga
Japanese Surnames
- Katsumata
- Kawabata
- Kawashima
- Kawasaki
- Kayama
- Kida
- Kimoto
- Kishimoto
- Kitano
- Kitazawa
- Kiyomizu
- Kobayakawa
- Koga
- Koike
- Koizumi
- Komatsu
- Komori
- Kono
- Koyama
- Kubota
- Kumada
- Kunimoto
- Kurata
- Kurihara
- Kurimoto
- Kuroki
- Kurosaki
- Kusaka
- Kusano
- Machida
- Maehara
- Maki
- Makino
- Marui
- Masaki
- Matsubara
- Matsuoka
- Matsuzaki
- Mikami
- Minami
- Mitsui
- Miyagawa
- Miyahara
- Miyoshi
- Mizoguchi
- Mizushima
- Mochida
- Motoyama
- Murai
- Murano
- Murase
- Nagamine
- Nagase
- Nakagami
- Nakaya
- Nakamoto
- Nakanishi
- Nakashima
- Nakatani
- Namba
- Nishihara
- Nishikawa
- Nishizawa
- Nogami
- Nomoto
- Numata
- Obara
- Ochiai
- Ogino
- Oikawa
Japanese Last Name
- Okabe
- Okamura
- Okawa
- Okuyama
- Omori
- Omura
- Osaki
- Otani
- Otsuka
- Ozaki
- Saeki
- Saga
- Saijo
- Sakaguchi
- Sakurai
- Sawai
- Shibuya
- Shimano
- Shimoda
- Shimura
- Shinozaki
- Shiota
- Shirakawa
- Sonoda
- Sugano
- Suwa
- Tachibana
- Taira
- Takabe
- Takahata
- Takasaki
- Takayama
- Takeshita
- Takizawa
- Tanimoto
- Tatsumi
- Terasaki
- Toyama
- Tsuchida
- Tsukahara
- Uchiyama
- Umeda
- Urata
- Usami
- Wakamatsu
- Watari
- Yabe
- Yamaji
- Yamamura
- Yasui
- Yokoi
- Yonemura
- Yoshimura
- Yoshino
- Yuasa
- Yuki
- Aihara
- Akagi
- Akai
- Akamatsu
- Akashi
- Aoyama
- Arakawa
- Ashida
- Chino
- Dan
- Eto
- Fukuzawa
- Fujioka
- Fujisawa
Japanese Last Names for Girls
- Sakurai
- Hanazono
- Himeno
- Shiraishi
- Shirakawa
- Yukimura
- Suzumori
- Umemoto
- Hanabusa
- Harukawa
- Amamiya
- Asahina
- Shiratori
- Himekawa
- Natsume
- Fuyuki
- Akizuki
- Momoi
- Momose
- Hanasaki
- Mochizuki
- Hinata
- Kotori
- Fujimiya
- Kasumi
- Chitose
- Midorikawa
- Wakaba
- Tsukimiya
- Kikukawa
- Sumire
- Yamabuki
- Nagisa
- Aoi
- Kagura
- Minase
- Mizuhara
- Hoshikawa
- Tsubaki
- Kisaragi
- Hanamura
- Himuro
- Kikuchi
- Asakura
- Tachibana
- Kotobuki
- Higashi
- Hiraga
- Hirayama
- Hirota
- Hisamatsu
- Hongo
- Horie
- Horiuchi
- Hoshi
- Hosoi
- Hosoya
- Ichihara
- Ichimura
- Igarashi
- Ikeuchi
- Imaizumi
- Inamura
- Inokuchi
- Irie
- Isobe
- Itagaki
- Iwama
- Iwano
- Izumi
Japanese Family Names
- Funabashi
- Furuya
- Genda
- Hamaguchi
- Hanai
- Hatakeyama
- Hayami
- Higa
- Hiramatsu
- Hirai
- Hisaishi
- Hozumi
- Ibuki
- Ichinose
- Ikuta
- Imamoto
- Inui
- Ishiguro
- Ishimoto
- Isono
- Iwasa
- Iwaki
- Izawa
- Jinno
- Kabasawa
- Kadowaki
- Kajita
- Kakinuma
- Kamiyama
- Kanemoto
- Kasahara
- Kataoka
- Katsura
- Kawahara
- Kawano
- Kawanishi
- Kikuta
- Kimata
- Kitahara
- Kitajima
- Kiuchi
- Kobata
- Kodama
- Kokubo
- Kominami
- Konda
- Kosuge
- Kotani
- Kumazawa
- Kuniyoshi
- Kuramoto
- Kuroiwa
- Kurita
- Kusunoki
- Maezawa
- Maruta
- Masuoka
- Matsuyama
- Mikasa
- Mitamura
- Miyauchi
- Mizutani
- Moriyama
- Mukai
- Mutoh
- Nagahama
- Nagaoka
- Naito
- Nakahara
- Nakajo
Japanese Clan Names and Compound Surnames
- Hatakeyama
- Yamanouchi
- Hosokawa
- Kobayakawa
- Watarai
- Onishi
- Fujikawa
- Utsunomiya
- Takeuchi
- Konoike
- Shimamura
- Kitabatake
- Kasuga
- Ayanokoji
- Hinokuma
- Karasuyama
- Hozumi
- Higashikuni
- Nishinomiya
- Soga
- Mononobe
- Otomo
- Nakatomi
- Kamo
- Hata
- Kibi
- Izumo
- Taira
- Minamoto
- Fujiwara
- Tachibana
- Sugawara
- Ariwara
- Oe
- Miyoshi
- Hojo
- Ashikaga
- Imagawa
- Asakura
- Azai
- Rokkaku
- Toki
- Shiba
- Isshiki
- Yamana
- Kyogoku
- Akamatsu
- Togashi
- Ogasawara
- Satomi
- Nanbu
- Satake
- Mogami
- Chosokabe
- Ouchi
- Amago
- Ryuzoji
- Shimazu
- Date
- Uesugi
- Takeda
- Tokugawa
- Matsudaira
- Sakai
- Honda
- Ii
- Sakakibara
- Okudaira
- Torii
- Nakata
Most Common Japanese Last Names
- Nishida
- Tsuji
- Kamiya
- Katayama
- Nakai
- Yamauchi
- Kurokawa
- Shimada
- Ohashi
- Satake
- Onishi
- Miyata
- Ishihara
- Anzai
- Kawai
- Tajima
- Haga
- Mochizuki
- Taguchi
- Oka
- Uehara
- Tokunaga
- Hamamoto
- Ogata
- Mizuta
- Amano
- Sugita
- Hirata
- Terada
- Kawada
- Kanda
- Kishi
- Kuribayashi
- Nagasawa
- Yamane
- Iwamoto
- Yagi
- Nakazawa
- Matsuo
- Matsushita
- Tsuda
- Kamata
- Iwai
- Hosokawa
- Mitani
- Tomioka
- Aizawa
- Seki
- Nitta
- Kinoshita
- Ohara
- Yokota
- Nozaki
- Kumagai
- Kurosawa
- Tsunoda
- Fukushima
- Fukui
- Wakabayashi
- Nagano
- Hori
- Shiraishi
- Takano
- Yamaoka
- Imamura
- Furuta
- Okazaki
- Kitamura
- Yoshioka
- Hiraoka
Japanese Last Names With Dark Meanings
- Kurosawa
- Kuroki
- Kurokawa
- Kuroda
- Kuroyanagi
- Kurogane
- Kageyama
- Kageura
- Kagemura
- Kagehara
- Kagemoto
- Mikage
- Onizuka
- Onitsuka
- Oniwa
- Akutagawa
- Kurohara
- Kuroiwa
- Kuroshima
- Kuroyama
- Kuronuma
- Kurobe
- Shinomiya
- Tsukikage
- Kurosaki
- Kurosu
- Kuranaga
- Kurashima
- Kurayoshi
- Kuramochi
- Yamiyoshi
- Yoruno
- Kaminari
- Kirisaki
- Kirihara
- Kuragami
- Hakamada
- Hakaya
- Tsukamoto
- Tsukahara
- Ushiro
- Ushijima
- Yuzuriha
- Kawakage
- Kageki
- Kagesaki
- Kagetsu
- Kagami
- Kuroneko
- Kurokami
- Kuromaru
- Kurotaki
- Kurotani
- Kuroshiro
- Kuroto
- Kuroyagi
- Mamiya
- Shiromizu
- Shimotsuki
- Yatsuka
- Oniyama
- Onibe
- Onoda
- Kawakami
- Hoshino
- Inagaki
- Mizuno
- Kawamura
- Funakoshi
- Morimoto
Rare Japanese Last Names
- Hitotsuyanagi
- Nikaido
- Mitsuhashi
- Ichijo
- Nijo
- Sanjo
- Shijo
- Gojo
- Rokujo
- Hachijo
- Kujo
- Juo
- Ichinomiya
- Ninomiya
- Sannomiya
- Watanuki
- Kokonoe
- Hachiya
- Hyakkoku
- Kogiso
- Hozumi
- Shogenji
- Kuyama
- Tsukuba
- Hyakutake
- Mukaibo
- Ogasawara
- Sasamoto
- Kamoshida
- Hakozaki
- Yatsushiro
- Okamoto
- Karasawa
- Shimotsuma
- Tokumaru
- Sakuraba
- Kurashiki
- Tsukinoki
- Nakatsuka
- Higashikata
- Kamitsukasa
- Himeki
- Tomiyasu
- Hanazawa
- Irokawa
- Kogure
- Umemiya
- Samejima
- Tsubouchi
- Yokomizo
- Takamiya
- Kasumigaseki
- Nanjo
- Mitsuzuka
- Gokan
- Shikama
- Ozeki
- Tsunashima
- Soeda
- Shirokane
- Nitobe
- Aso
- Shinagawa
- Yoshikawa
- Okubo
- Ozawa
- Ichikawa
- Kanai
- Higuchi
- Sugawara
Good Japanese Last Names
- Fukuda
- Fukui
- Fukuhara
- Fukushima
- Fukuoka
- Fukuzawa
- Fukumoto
- Fukunaga
- Fukuyama
- Kotobuki
- Takara
- Takarada
- Takaraya
- Kiyomizu
- Kiyohara
- Kiyokawa
- Kiyonaga
- Hisamoto
- Hisamatsu
- Hisaishi
- Nagai
- Nagamine
- Nagase
- Nagata
- Nagasawa
- Masuda
- Masuyama
- Masuoka
- Sakae
- Sakaeda
- Sakaguchi
- Yoshida
- Yoshikawa
- Yoshimura
- Yoshino
- Yoshioka
- Yoshizawa
- Yoshihara
- Yoshimoto
- Yoshitake
- Wakamatsu
- Tomita
- Tomioka
- Tomiyama
- Tomizawa
- Tomimura
- Kaneda
- Kanemoto
- Kanemori
- Kanai
- Seki
- Matsu
- Matsunaga
- Shoji
- Shindo
- Takeshita
- Hirose
- Hironaka
- Hirano
- Hirata
- Mizuno
- Sakurai
- Hoshi
- Haruta
- Harada
- Nagano
- Asano
- Aizawa
- Furukawa
- Hamada
Japanese Last Names Cute
- Momoi
- Momose
- Momota
- Momozono
- Momosaki
- Suzumura
- Suzunaga
- Suzuhara
- Suzuya
- Suzuoka
- Hoshino
- Hanazono
- Hanamura
- Hanasaki
- Hanamoto
- Umehara
- Hinata
- Hinohara
- Himuro
- Himeno
- Mochizuki
- Mochida
- Nekoma
- Nekota
- Usami
- Usui
- Kameda
- Kamei
- Tsuruta
- Tsuruoka
- Tsurumi
- Tsuruya
- Tsuruhara
- Hatoyama
- Hatori
- Hatano
- Kumagai
- Kumazawa
- Inuyama
- Inukai
- Inuzuka
- Konno
- Kotori
- Sakurai
- Himekawa
- Yukimura
- Hoshikawa
- Harukawa
- Aoi
- Mizuki
- Kokubo
- Koyama
- Koike
- Kobayashi
- Komori
- Komatsu
- Kodama
- Kojima
- Kogure
- Koyuki
- Chiyoda
- Chitose
- Shiratori
- Shirayuki
- Ichigo
- Mikan
- Ringo
- Fuwa
- Nishida
- Tsuji
Japanese Last Names Meaning Fire
- Hino
- Hibino
- Hikawa
- Hiyama
- Homura
- Kagari
- Hidaka
- Hinohara
- Hioka
- Hinuma
- Hiryu
- Honjo
- Akagi
- Akai
- Akaike
- Akamatsu
- Akamine
- Akasaka
- Akashi
- Akaishi
- Akabane
- Akahori
- Akabori
- Akaza
- Akamura
- Akimoto
- Enomoto
- Enjoji
- Enya
- Kajiwara
- Kajiyama
- Kajita
- Kajima
- Kazan
- Honoo
- Hizume
- Hiuchi
- Hitachi
- Hikari
- Hikaru
- Hiroshi
- Hinode
- Asahi
- Asahina
- Asahara
- Asano
- Asada
- Akebono
- Akeda
- Akechi
- Akiba
- Taimatsu
- Takibi
- Hakuun
- Atsumi
- Atsuta
- Nenoi
- Kuranaga
- Kurenai
- Shuri
- Shu
- Shimo
- Rengoku
- Kazama
- Kagemaru
- Kitsu
- Hono
- Moe
- Moeda
- Onishi
Japanese Last Names Short
- Abe
- Ando
- Aoki
- Arai
- Asai
- Baba
- Doi
- Ebe
- Endo
- Eto
- Goto
- Hara
- Hori
- Ida
- Ii
- Imai
- Ito
- Kato
- Kubo
- Kudo
- Mori
- Mita
- Mine
- Nara
- Oda
- Ogi
- Oka
- Ono
- Ota
- Sano
- Sato
- Seki
- Sone
- Tani
- Wada
- Waki
- Yano
- Yuki
- Kita
- Kino
- Kida
- Kise
- Naka
- Nomi
- Oki
- Ose
- Ueda
- Ueno
- Ohno
- Aida
- Ide
- Ise
- Ino
- Iwa
- Kai
- Kon
- Kuno
- Kura
- Maki
- Mase
- Mito
- Mura
- Nagi
- Nui
- Ohta
- Sai
- Sue
- Take
- Tobe
- Toda
Japanese Last Names Meaning Love
- Aihara
- Aikawa
- Aizawa
- Aida
- Aiba
- Aisaka
- Aizumi
- Aiuchi
- Aioi
- Ainoya
- Aishima
- Aiyama
- Aikura
- Aimoto
- Aitsuki
- Koibuchi
- Koide
- Koizumi
- Koiwai
- Tomoda
- Tomonaga
- Tomooka
- Tomosaka
- Tomoe
- Mutsu
- Mutsuki
- Mutsumi
- Megumi
- Kokoro
- Shinoda
- Shinohara
- Shinmura
- Shindo
- Yasuda
- Yasui
- Yasuoka
- Yasuhara
- Wada
- Wakui
- Wakamatsu
- Nagomi
- Yuzuki
- Himekawa
- Hanayome
- Tamaki
- Itoh
- Itoshima
- Hisano
- Kawai
- Suzuki
- Ohtomo
- Otomo
- Nakayoshi
- Nakamura
- Yorozu
- Yoshitaka
- Kiyoshi
- Mizuho
- Mamiya
- Maki
- Seiko
- Sachi
- Sachiko
- Kofuku
- Fukumoto
- Fukunaga
- Kanda
- Kishi
- Kuribayashi
- Nagasawa
Japanese Last Names Wikipedia
- Nakasone
- Nawa
- Niimi
- Nishimoto
- Nishino
- Niwa
- Nonaka
- Noro
- Obi
- Ochi
- Ogami
- Ohkawa
- Okano
- Okuno
- Okita
- Onoda
- Onuki
- Osawa
- Otsu
- Oyama
- Ryu
- Saegusa
- Sakuma
- Sakata
- Sanada
- Sasagawa
- Satou
- Sawamura
- Segawa
- Senda
- Shimamura
- Shimokawa
- Shindo
- Shiomi
- Shirato
- Soma
- Sugiura
- Sumida
- Tabata
- Tadokoro
- Takabayashi
- Takashima
- Takase
- Takeyama
- Takita
- Tamai
- Tamba
- Tanigawa
- Tashiro
- Teshima
- Tojo
- Tokita
- Tomiyama
- Tonegawa
- Toshima
- Tsubota
- Tsukui
- Tsurumi
- Uemura
- Ukai
- Umezawa
- Urano
- Wakui
- Washio
- Yaguchi
- Yamaki
- Yamanaka
- Yamato
- Yanagi
- Yasuhara
Japanese Last Names Meaning Moon
- Tsukimoto
- Tsukioka
- Tsukiyama
- Tsukishima
- Tsukino
- Tsukikawa
- Tsukihara
- Tsukimura
- Tsukiji
- Tsukisawa
- Mochizuki
- Mikazuki
- Mitsuki
- Akizuki
- Haruzuki
- Satsuki
- Shimotsuki
- Uzuki
- Hazuki
- Nagatsuki
- Kozuki
- Mizuki
- Tsukumo
- Tsukuyomi
- Tsukinaga
- Tsukishiro
- Tsukimiya
- Kagetsu
- Seigetsu
- Gekko
- Yozuki
- Kamizuki
- Tsukitani
- Tsukiyoshi
- Tsukigi
- Tsukiba
- Tsukigami
- Tsukita
- Tsukada
- Tsukamoto
- Tsukuba
- Tsukui
- Gessho
- Getsuga
- Getsumei
- Mangetsu
- Kisaragi
- Minazuki
- Fumizuki
- Shiwasu
- Kannazuki
- Mutsuki
- Yayoi
- Hoshizuki
- Tsukiko
- Tsukiha
- Tsukimi
- Tsukimori
- Tsukisaki
- Tsukitaka
- Tsuda
- Kamata
- Iwai
- Hosokawa
- Mitani
- Tomioka
- Aizawa
- Seki
- Nitta
- Kinoshita
Conclusion
You now have 940+ Japanese last names, from common picks like Sato and Tanaka to rare ones like Hitotsuyanagi. Each name carries a small story about land, family, or history. That is what makes Japanese surnames so rich.
Pick the style that fits your need, whether it is a character, a project, or pure interest. Check the meaning and the kanji before you choose. This list of Japanese last names is a good place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common Japanese last names used in popular culture?
Names like Tanaka, Suzuki, Sato, and Yamada appear often in anime, games, and films. They are short and easy for fans around the world to remember.
What are the most common Japanese last names?
Sato, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka, and Ito are among the most common. Sato is usually ranked first.
How to pronounce difficult Japanese last names correctly?
Break the name into syllables and say each one evenly. Japanese vowels stay short and clear, so Tanaka is ta-na-ka.
Do Japanese people write their last name first?
Yes, in Japan the family name comes first and the given name comes second. In Yamada Taro, Yamada is the last name.
How many Japanese last names are there?
Japan has more than 100,000 surnames. Only a few hundred are very common.
What does Sato mean in Japanese?
Sato combines kanji for assist and wisteria. It links back to the Fujiwara clan.
I am a dedicated author with 8+ years of experience writing for name websites, specializing in baby names, surnames, and name meanings from different cultures. I have researched and published hundreds of informative articles covering name origins, pronunciation, popularity, and historical significance. My writing is based on careful research and trusted references to provide readers with accurate and engaging information.