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In Japan, as the population has grown, certain surnames have become notably common. These surnames are primarily written in kanji, one of the three essential Japanese writing systems alongside hiragana and katakana. Kanji characters often symbolize concepts. In Japanese naming conventions, the surname always comes before the given name. Following the name, honorifics are typically added, such as the suffixes –san (さん), denoting “sir” or “madam”, or –sensei (先生) for educators and medical professionals.
Top 20 most common surnames in Japan
Here are the 20 most prevalent surnames in Japan, along with their meanings:
- Sato (佐藤): Variations include Satō, Satou, and Satoh.
- Suzuki (鈴木): Translates to “bell wood”.
- Takahashi (高橋): Denotes “high bridge”.
- Tanaka (田中): Literally means “in the rice field”.
- Watanabe (渡辺): Originates from the samurai clan of Watanabe no Tsuna.
- Ito (伊藤): Refers to the wisteria flower.
- Yamamoto (山本): Signifies “base of the mountain”.
- Nakamura (中村): Means “middle village”.
- Kobayashi (小林): Translates to “small forest”.
- Kato (加藤): Represents “increase” and is also a flower’s name.
- Yoshida (吉田): Means “fortunate rice field”.
- Yamada (山田): Combines “mountain” and “rice field”.
- Sasaki (佐々木): Denotes “helpful” or “competent”.
- Yamaguchi (山口): Means “mountain entrance”.
- Saito (斎藤): Another name for the wisteria flower.
- Matsumoto (松本): Translates to “base of the pine tree”.
- Inoue (井上): Means “above the well”.
- Kimura (木村): Signifies “tree village”.
- Hayashi (林): Represents “forest”.
- Shimizu (清水): Denotes “clear water”.
Notable Japanese Figures with Common Surnames
- Eisaku Sato: Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1974)
- Yuki Satō: Renowned actor.
- Korekiyo Takahashi: Former Prime Minister of Japan.
- Masahiro Tanaka: Esteemed baseball player.
- Koichi Tanaka: Nobel Prize recipient in Chemistry (2002)
- Noizi Ito: Celebrated manga artist.
- Hiroshi Yamamoto: Olympic medalist.
- Koichi Kobayashi: Prominent go player.
- Akira Sasaki: Alpine skiing champion.
- Takumi Saito: Acclaimed actor.
- Takehiko Inoue: Manga maestro.
- Toshio Matsumoto: Film director extraordinaire.
- Razan Hayashi: Philosopher of note.
Other Widely Recognized Japanese Surnames
Beyond the aforementioned surnames, other prevalent Japanese surnames include Yamazaki, Mori, Ikeda, Hashimoto, Yamashita, Murakami, Ishikawa, Nakajima, Fujita, Ogawa, Goto, and Okada.
Bibliography
- Planas, R. Japanese Surnames. (2006). Alicante. Virtual Library Miguel de Cervantes.
- Govett, D. Japanese Surnames: 1000 Common Family Names of Japan. (2010). Japan. japanorama.
