Japanese Family Names (Surnames)
These are the top 10 surnames for certain regions in Japan, with kanji (Japanese ideographs) and common readings of that kanji. It started as a way to teach myself how to read common names but it might also be a useful reference for others. The info was taken from this site. If I doinked up a translation, uhh...I will have to put up a contact form later so you can tell me.
Many of these names won't make much sense if the kanji are read in a literal way. Such names have kanji which are used for their phonetic value instead of their semantic value. Other names make semantic sense because they relate to geographic features.
| Toyko |
|---|
| Rank | Kanji | Usual Reading | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | 鈴木 | Suzuki | bell, tree |
| 2 | 佐藤 | Satou | assist, wisteria |
| 3 | 高橋 | Takahashi | tall/high, bridge |
| 4 | 田中 | Tanaka | rice paddy, center |
| 5 | 小林 | Kobayashi | small, grove |
| 6 | 渡辺 | Watanabe | cross over, boundary |
| 7 | 中村 | Nakamura | center, village |
| 8 | 伊藤 | Itou | that one, wisteria |
| 9 | 加藤 | Katou | addition, wisteria |
| 10 | 山本 | Yamamoto | mountain, base |
| Osaka |
|---|
| Rank | Kanji | Usual Reading | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | 田中 | Tanaka | rice paddy, center |
| 2 | 山本 | Yamamoto | mountain, base |
| 3 | 中村 | Nakamura | center, village |
| 4 | 吉田 | Yoshida | good luck, rice paddy |
| 5 | 松本 | Matsumoto | pine tree, base |
| 6 | 井上 | Inoue | water well, above |
| 7 | 山田 | Yamada | mountain, rice paddy |
| 8 | 山口 | Yamaguchi | mountain, mouth |
| 9 | 高橋 | Takahashi | tall/high, bridge |
| 10 | 小林 | Kobayashi | small, grove |
| Kyoto |
|---|
| Rank | Kanji | Usual Reading | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | 田中 | Tanaka | rice paddy, center |
| 2 | 山本 | Yamamoto | mountain, base |
| 3 | 中村 | Nakamura | center, village |
| 4 | 井上 | Inoue | water well, above |
| 5 | 吉田 | Yoshida | good luck, rice paddy |
| 6 | 西村 | Nishimura | west, village |
| 7 | 山田 | Yamada | mountain, rice paddy |
| 8 | 木村 | Kimura | tree, village |
| 9 | 松本 | Matsumoto | pine tree, base |
| 10 | 林 | Hayashi | grove |
| Hokkaido |
|---|
| Rank | Kanji | Usual Reading | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | 佐藤 | Satou | assist, wisteria |
| 2 | 高橋 | Takahashi | tall/high, bridge |
| 3 | 佐々木 | Sasaki | assist, assist, tree |
| 4 | 鈴木 | Suzuki | bell tree |
| 5 | 伊藤 | Itou | that one, wisteria |
| 6 | 田中 | Tanaka | rice paddy, center |
| 7 | 吉田 | Yoshida | good luck, rice paddy |
| 8 | 渡辺 | Watanabe | cross over, boundary |
| 9 | 中村 | Nakamura | center, village |
| 10 | 小林 | Kobayashi | small, grove |
| Okinawa |
|---|
| Rank | Kanji | Usual Reading | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | 比嘉 | Higa | compare, esteem |
| 2 | 金城 | Kinjou | gold, castle |
| 3 | 大城 | Ooshiro | great, castle |
| 4 | 宮城 | Miyagi | shrine, castle |
| 5 | 新垣 | Arakaki | new, fence |
| 6 | 玉城 | Tamaki | jewel, castle |
| 7 | 上原 | Uehara | above, grassland |
| 8 | 島袋 | Shimabukuro | island, bag |
| 9 | 平良 | Taira | flat, pleasant |
| 10 | 山城 | Yamashiro | mountain, castle |
Changelog
- 1/25/18: Added Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Okinawa.