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Anime Last Names

These anime last names are real Japanese surnames of the kind that fill anime and manga casts, listed A to Z with kanji, readings and meanings so you can see what each name actually says.

187 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Abe 安倍

    Peace and double

  • Agatsuma 我妻

    My wife; an old northern family name

  • Aino 愛野

    Love field

  • Aizawa 相沢

    Together marsh

  • Akagi 赤城

    Red castle

  • Akai 赤井

    Red well

  • Akashi 明石

    Bright stone

  • Akiyama 秋山

    Autumn mountain

  • Amamiya 雨宮

    Rain shrine

  • Amano 天野

    Heavenly field

  • Amuro 安室

    Peaceful room

  • Aoki 青木

    Green tree

  • Aoyama 青山

    Blue-green mountain

  • Arima 有馬

    Having horses

  • Asahina 朝比奈

    From a place name; known from the Asahina samurai family

  • Ashiya 芦屋

    Reed house

  • Atobe 跡部

    Trace section

D

  • Date 伊達

    From Date district in Fukushima; a northern daimyo clan

E

  • Echizen 越前

    Named for the old province of Echizen

  • Edogawa 江戸川

    Edo river

F

  • Fuji 不二

    Not two, peerless

  • Fujioka 藤岡

    Wisteria hill

  • Fujiwara 藤原

    Wisteria field; the great court clan

  • Furuya 降谷

    Descending valley

G

  • Gojo 五条

    Fifth avenue; a court noble house

H

  • Haibara 灰原

    Ash field

  • Hanamiya 花宮

    Flower shrine

  • Hanamura 花村

    Flower village

  • Hanazawa 花沢

    Flower marsh

  • Hanazono 花園

    Flower garden

  • Haruno 春野

    Spring field

  • Hasegawa 長谷川

    Long valley river

  • Hattori 服部

    From hatori-be, the ancient weavers' guild

  • Hayama 葉山

    Leaf mountain

  • Hayasaka 早坂

    Early slope

  • Hayashi 林

    Forest

  • Hibari 雲雀

    Skylark

  • Hijikata 土方

    Earth direction

  • Himura 日村

    Sun village

  • Himuro 氷室

    Ice house

  • Hinata 日向

    Sunny place

  • Hino 日野

    Sun field

  • Hoshino 星野

    Star field

  • Hyuga 日向

    Facing the sun

I

  • Ichijo 一条

    First avenue; a court noble house

  • Ichimaru 市丸

    Market circle

  • Ichinose 一ノ瀬

    First rapids

  • Iida 飯田

    Cooked rice field

  • Ijichi 伊地知

    From a place name; a Satsuma samurai family

  • Inoue 井上

    Above the well

  • Ishida 石田

    Stone rice field

  • Ishigami 石上

    Above the stone

  • Isshiki 一色

    Single color

K

  • Kaga 加賀

    Named for the old province of Kaga

  • Kagami 加賀美

    From a place in old Kai province; written with Kaga (加賀) and beauty (美)

  • Kageyama 影山

    Shadow mountain

  • Kagura 神楽

    Sacred Shinto dance

  • Kamijo 上条

    Upper avenue

  • Kamiya 神谷

    Valley of the gods

  • Kamo 賀茂

    Celebration and thick growth; an ancient shrine clan

  • Kaneki 金木

    Gold tree

  • Kanroji 甘露寺

    Sweet dew temple; a court noble house

  • Kanzaki 神崎

    Cape of the gods

  • Kashiwagi 柏木

    Oak tree

  • Katsura 桂

    Katsura tree

  • Kazama 風間

    Among the wind

  • Kazami 風見

    Wind watcher

  • Kazehaya 風早

    Swift wind

  • Kino 木野

    Tree field

  • Kira 吉良

    Good fortune and goodness; a samurai clan

  • Kirishima 霧島

    Misty island

  • Kiritani 桐谷

    Paulownia valley

  • Kiriyama 桐山

    Paulownia mountain

  • Kiryu 桐生

    Where paulownia grows

  • Kisaragi 如月

    The second lunar month

  • Kise 黄瀬

    Yellow rapids

  • Kitagawa 北川

    North river

  • Kobayashi 小林

    Small forest

  • Kogure 小暮

    Small twilight

  • Kohinata 小日向

    Small sunny place

  • Koizumi 小泉

    Small spring

  • Kondo 近藤

    Near wisteria

  • Konoe 近衛

    Imperial guard; a regent house

  • Kousaka 高坂

    High slope

  • Kudo 工藤

    Craft wisteria

  • Kuga 久我

    Long-lasting self; a court noble house

  • Kujo 九条

    Ninth avenue; a court noble house

  • Kurama 鞍馬

    Saddle horse; also a sacred mountain

  • Kurata 倉田

    Storehouse field

  • Kuroba 黒羽

    Black feathers

  • Kuroda 黒田

    Black rice field

  • Kurokawa 黒川

    Black river

  • Kuroki 黒木

    Black tree

  • Kuronuma 黒沼

    Black swamp

  • Kurosaki 黒崎

    Black cape

  • Kurosawa 黒沢

    Black marsh

  • Kusanagi 草薙

    Grass cutter, after the legendary sword

  • Kuwabara 桑原

    Mulberry field

M

  • Makino 牧野

    Pasture field

  • Makise 牧瀬

    Pasture rapids

  • Matsuda 松田

    Pine rice field

  • Midorikawa 緑川

    Green river

  • Mikage 御影

    Honorable shadow

  • Mikami 三上

    Three above

  • Minamino 南野

    South field

  • Minamoto 源

    Source or origin; the great samurai clan

  • Minato 湊

    Harbor

  • Misaka 御坂

    Honorable slope

  • Mitsui 三井

    Three wells

  • Miyagi 宮城

    Shrine castle

  • Miyamoto 宮本

    Base of the shrine

  • Miyazono 宮園

    Shrine garden

  • Mizuno 水野

    Water field

  • Mogi 茂木

    Luxuriant tree

  • Momochi 百地

    Hundred lands

  • Mouri 毛利

    From Mōri in old Sagami province; a western daimyo clan

N

  • Nagase 長瀬

    Long rapids

  • Nagato 長門

    Long gate; an old province

  • Nanami 七海

    Seven seas

  • Nara 奈良

    Named for the ancient capital Nara

  • Nijo 二条

    Second avenue; a court noble house

  • Nishimiya 西宮

    West shrine

O

  • Oda 織田

    Weaving field

  • Oikawa 及川

    Reaching the river

  • Okabe 岡部

    Hill section

  • Okita 沖田

    Offshore rice field

  • Otonashi 音無

    Without sound, silent

  • Otori 鳳

    Phoenix

R

  • Rukawa 流川

    Flowing river

  • Ryuzaki 竜崎

    Dragon cape

S

  • Sagara 相良

    Mutual goodness; a Kyushu samurai clan

  • Saionji 西園寺

    Western garden temple; a court noble house

  • Saito 斎藤

    Purification wisteria

  • Sakaki 榊

    Sakaki, a sacred Shinto tree

  • Sakamoto 坂本

    Foot of the slope

  • Sakuraba 桜庭

    Cherry blossom garden

  • Sakuragi 桜木

    Cherry tree

  • Sakurai 桜井

    Cherry tree well

  • Sanada 真田

    True rice field

  • Sasagawa 笹川

    Bamboo grass river

  • Sasaki 佐々木

    From Sasaki in old Ōmi province; a major samurai clan

  • Sawada 沢田

    Marsh rice field

  • Sawamura 沢村

    Marsh village

  • Serizawa 芹沢

    Water parsley marsh

  • Shiina 椎名

    Chinquapin tree name

  • Shimura 志村

    Aspiring village

  • Shinomiya 四宮

    Four shrines

  • Shirai 白井

    White well

  • Shiraishi 白石

    White stone

  • Shiratori 白鳥

    White bird, swan

  • Shiroyama 城山

    Castle mountain

  • Sugawara 菅原

    Sedge field

  • Suo 周防

    Named for the old province of Suō

T

  • Tachibana 橘

    Mandarin orange tree; an old noble clan

  • Tadokoro 田所

    Place of rice fields

  • Taira 平

    Flat or peaceful; the rival samurai clan

  • Takada 高田

    High rice field

  • Takami 鷹見

    Hawk watching

  • Takanashi 小鳥遊

    Little birds at play, since no hawks are near

  • Takao 高尾

    High ridge

  • Takasugi 高杉

    Tall cedar

  • Takatsukasa 鷹司

    Hawk official; a regent house

  • Takeda 武田

    Warrior field

  • Tanaka 田中

    In the middle of the rice field

  • Tezuka 手塚

    Hand mound

  • Todoroki 轟

    Roar, a thunderous rumble

  • Tokugawa 徳川

    Virtue river; the shogun family

  • Tomioka 富岡

    Wealthy hill

  • Tomoe 巴

    Swirling comma crest

  • Tsuchimikado 土御門

    Earth imperial gate; a court diviner family

  • Tsukamoto 塚本

    Base of the mound

  • Tsukasa 司

    Official or director

  • Tsukino 月野

    Moon field

  • Tsukishima 月島

    Moon island

  • Tsuruya 鶴屋

    Crane house

U

  • Ueda 上田

    Upper rice field

  • Uesugi 上杉

    Upper cedar

  • Urahara 浦原

    Bay field

Y

  • Yagami 八神

    Eight gods

  • Yagyu 柳生

    Where willows grow; a sword school family

  • Yamaguchi 山口

    Mountain entrance

  • Yamamoto 山本

    Base of the mountain

  • Yamanaka 山中

    Inside the mountains

  • Yamazaki 山崎

    Mountain cape

  • Yoshikawa 吉川

    Lucky river

  • Yukihira 雪平

    Snow plain

  • Yukimura 幸村

    Happy village

Generate random anime surnames

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Results (6)

  • Kuroda

    黒田

    Black rice field

    Japanese

  • Matsuda

    松田

    Pine rice field

    Japanese

  • Kiriyama

    桐山

    Paulownia mountain

    Japanese

  • Hinata

    日向

    Sunny place

    Japanese

  • Mogi

    茂木

    Luxuriant tree

    Japanese

  • Kiryu

    桐生

    Where paulownia grows

    Japanese

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    Why names in anime carry so much meaning

    Japanese surnames are written in kanji, and most of them describe a landscape. 山 is mountain, 川 is river, 田 is rice field, 木 is tree and 島 is island. Put two together and you get a real surname: Yamamoto 山本, base of the mountain, or Kurokawa 黒川, black river. Because every reader of Japanese sees those images at a glance, anime and manga creators often choose surnames whose kanji hint at a character's personality or role in the story.

    A quiet, distant character might get Hoshino 星野, star field, while a stubborn one gets Shiraishi 白石, white stone. A character with a cold manner might be a Himuro 氷室, which means ice house. These are all ordinary surnames that real people carry, which is why they feel natural in a school setting. The list gives the kanji beside each name so you can see the imagery for yourself instead of relying on a translation.

    Kanji, readings and a few surprises

    The same kanji can be read in different ways, and the same sound can be written with different kanji. Saitō can be 斉藤 or 斎藤, and the family will care which one you use. Some readings are famously hard even for Japanese speakers. 小鳥遊 is read Takanashi, which literally means where little birds play, because taka nashi means no hawks. 東海林 can be read Shōji. The list gives the common reading for each entry.

    Most Japanese surnames are younger than you might expect. Before the Meiji era, surnames were largely reserved for samurai, nobles and some wealthy families. A law of 1875 required every citizen to register one, and many families chose names from the landscape around their homes. That burst of naming is why Japan has an enormous variety of surnames, with many held by only a few households.

    Choosing anime last names for your own characters

    In Japanese the family name comes first, so the character Hoshino Aki is Aki Hoshino in English order. Classmates and colleagues usually call each other by surname plus an honorific, such as Hoshino-san or Hoshino-kun, and switching to a first name is a sign of real closeness. That means the surname is the name your character hears most, so it deserves as much thought as the given name.

    Match the rarity of the name to the character. Everyday surnames like Satō, Suzuki, Takahashi and Tanaka suit ordinary students and office workers, and they are the most common names in Japan for a reason. Rarer names with striking kanji suit a mysterious transfer student or an old family with secrets. Check the meaning column so a name does not make an accidental joke, and use the Japanese generator linked on this page for random picks.

    Frequently asked questions

    What are the most common anime last names?

    Anime often uses the same everyday names that are common in Japan, such as Satō, Suzuki, Takahashi, Tanaka and Watanabe. Names with vivid kanji, like Hoshino, Kurokawa and Shiraishi, are also popular because they add imagery to a character without sounding invented.

    Why do anime characters call each other by their family names?

    In Japan, using a surname with an honorific is the polite default at school and at work. First names are kept for family, close friends and partners. In anime, the moment one character starts using another's first name often marks a turning point in their relationship.

    Which names on this list have the coolest meanings?

    Look for kanji tied to nature and light. Hoshino means star field, Kurokawa black river, Himuro ice house and Amamiya rain shrine. Takanashi, written 小鳥遊, means where little birds play. The meaning column beside each entry explains the kanji so you can choose by image.

    Can I use these names for an original character?

    Yes. They are ordinary Japanese surnames that belong to no single franchise. Many real names appear in several different series, so pairing a surname with a distinctive given name is the easiest way to make your character feel like your own.

    More last name lists