200+ Japanese Last Names 2026 (With Meanings)
Japanese last names are of great interest to me, as they represent the cultural history and traditions of the country.
They may derive from nature, geography, or various ancient beliefs; these family names have meanings that go beyond that of mere identification.
From names representing the splendor of nature to names rooted in the family’s ancestry, each tells a different story.
In this blog post, we will analyze the meanings behind some common Japanese last names to discover their history, cultural background, and symbolism.
Japanese last names
Takahashi (高橋) – “Tall bridge”
Yamamoto (山本) – “Base of the mountain”
Tanaka (田中) – “Center of the rice field”
Watanabe (渡辺) – “Crossing the boundary”
Sato (佐藤) – “Help and wisteria” (a type of flower)
Kobayashi (小林) – “Small forest”
Nakamura (中村) – “Middle village”
Inoue (井上) – “Above the well”
Ishida (石田) – “Stone rice field”
Matsumoto (松本) – “Base of the pine tree”
Yoshida (吉田) – “Good rice field”
Shimizu (清水) – “Pure water”
Fujita (藤田) – “Wisteria field”
Hasegawa (長谷川) – “Long valley river”
Kato (加藤) – “Increase wisteria”
Murakami (村上) – “Above the village”
Okada (岡田) – “Hill rice field”
Kawai (川井) – “River well”
Miyamoto (宮本) – “Base of the shrine”
Abe (安倍) – “Peaceful” or “safe” (alternative readings exist)
Ueda (上田) – “Upper rice field”
Oda (織田) – “Weaving rice field”
Fujimoto (藤本) – “Base of the wisteria”
Noguchi (野口) – “Field mouth”
Kurosawa (黒沢) – “Black swamp”
Tominari (富成) – “Rich, prosperous”
Kobayakawa (小早川) – “Small, swift river”
Sekiguchi (関口) – “Boundary mouth”
Yamaguchi (山口) – “Mountain’s mouth”
Nishimura (西村) – “West village”
Sasaki (佐々木) – “Help and tree”
Kishimoto (岸本) – “Base of the shore”
Taniguchi (谷口) – “Valley mouth”
Takeda (武田) – “Military rice field”
Murata (村田) – “Village rice field”
Ono (小野) – “Small field”
Hirano (平野) – “Flat field”
Yokoyama (横山) – “Side mountain”
Sakamoto (坂本) – “Base of the hill”
Arai (新井) – “New field”
Hashimoto (橋本) – “Base of the bridge”
Araki (荒木) – “Rough tree”
Fujii (藤井) – “Wisteria well”
Kuroda (黒田) – “Black rice field”
Shimamoto (島本) – “Base of the island”
Yamagishi (山岸) – “Mountain shore”
Tsuchiya (土屋) – “Earth house”
Asano (浅野) – “Shallow field”
Nakajima (中島) – “Middle island”
Okamoto (岡本) – “Base of the hill”
Kobayashi (小林) – “Small forest”
Sakai (酒井) – “Sake well”
Nakanishi (中西) – “West of the middle”
Kurosaki (黒崎) – “Black cape”
Takagi (高木) – “Tall tree”
Iida (飯田) – “Rice field”
Fukuda (福田) – “Blessed rice field”
Hattori (服部) – “Clothing department”
Miyazaki (宮崎) – “Shrine hill”
Kawashima (川島) – “Island in the river”
Yokota (横田) – “Horizontal rice field”
Ishikawa (石川) – “Stone river”
Seki (関) – “Barrier”
Ono (尾野) – “Tail field”
Uchida (内田) – “Inner rice field”
Sugimoto (杉本) – “Base of the cedar tree”
Nakamura (中村) – “Middle village”
Takahashi (高橋) – “Tall bridge”
Nishida (西田) – “West rice field”
Fujisawa (藤沢) – “Wisteria swamp”
Kawano (川野) – “River field”
Shibata (柴田) – “Brushwood rice field”
Okamoto (岡本) – “Base of the hill”
Ishida (石田) – “Stone rice field”
Matsuda (松田) – “Pine tree rice field”
Kobayashi (小林) – “Small forest”
Kuroda (黒田) – “Black rice field”
Oda (織田) – “Weaving rice field”
Tominari (富成) – “Rich, prosperous”
Abe (安倍) – “Peaceful” or “safe”
Wada (和田) – “Harmonious rice field”
Sakurai (桜井) – “Cherry tree well”
Yamagata (山形) – “Mountain shape”
Yoshimoto (吉元) – “Good origin”
Shiraishi (白石) – “White stone”
Kaneko (金子) – “Child of gold”
Nagasaki (長崎) – “Long cape”
Kawai (川井) – “River well”
Arai (新井) – “New field”
Miyamoto (宮本) – “Base of the shrine”
Tsuchiya (土屋) – “Earth house”
Asano (浅野) – “Shallow field”
Fujimoto (藤本) – “Base of the wisteria”
Iida (飯田) – “Rice field”
Hara (原) – “Plain, field”
Oikawa (大井川) – “Big river”
Yokoyama (横山) – “Side mountain”
Kase (加瀬) – “Add cape”
Ikeuchi (池内) – “Inside the pond”
Saito (斉藤) – “Correct wisteria”
Amano – heaven’s field
Asakura – tomorrow’s storehouse
Asagao – morning glory (rare nature name)
Aoki – green tree
Arakida – new land
Awaji – peaceful road
Chiba – thousand leaves
Chinen – elder rice field
Eguchi – river mouth
Enomoto – along the field base
Fukuda – fortunate rice field
Fukuhara – fortunate plains
Funahashi – boat bridge
Furukawa – old river
Fushimi – hidden water
Goda – strong rice field
Haga – leafy slope
Hamaoka – beach hill
Hanabusa – flower tip
Hattori – field bird
Higashioka – eastern hill
Hikami – elegant god
Hirano – flat plain
Hirata – flat rice paddy
Hirono – spacious fields
Hishida – water field
Hisamatsu – long-standing pine
Hotta – cultivated rice field
Iga – well-protected valley
Iide – north exit
Ishida – stone rice field
Ishihara – stone plain
Isozaki – rocky cape
Itakura – sentry storehouse
Iwahara – rock plain
Jinno – benevolent field
Kabayama – bamboo mountain
Kadokawa – corner river
Kaida – sea rice paddy
Kajiyama – blacksmith’s mountain
Kamakura – sickle storehouse
Kaneda – golden rice field
Kaneko – gold child
Karasawa – crow marsh
Kataoka – shoulder hill
Kawakami – upper river
Kawasaki – river cape
Kemo – hairy field
Kida – tree rice paddy
Kikuchi – chrysanthemum mouth
Kimoto – tree root
Kinoshita – under the tree
Kirino – fog valley
Kitaoka – north hill
Kitagawa – north river
Koike – small pond
Komatsu – small pine
Komine – small peak
Konishi – small west
Koyama – small mountain
Kuroda – black rice field
Kurumada – cart field
Matsuda – pine rice field
Matsui – pine well
Matsuzaki – pine cape
Mayuzumi – eyebrow water
Midorikawa – green river
Miyadera – temple valley
Miyake – three houses
Mizutani – water valley
Morita – forest rice field
Motoyama – origin mountain
Nagahara – long plain
Nagashima – long island
Nagasawa – long marsh
Nakamoto – inside origin
Nishida – west rice field
Nishikawa – west river
Nishiyama – west mountain
Nomura – field village
Ogino – desert field
Omiya – great shrine
Ono – small field
Osaki – big cape
Oshiro – big castle
Sakurai – cherry blossom well
Shibata – brushwood rice paddy
Shidara – oak slope
Sugiyama – cedar mountain
Takagi – high tree
Taketani – bamboo valley
Tashiro – many fields
Togawa – door river
Tojo – wisteria castle
Tokunaga – virtue long
Tomiyama – rich mountain
Tsukamoto – beside origin
Uemura – upper village
Yabuki – arrow wood
Yamashiro – mountain castle
Yasuda – peaceful rice field
