lastnamegenerators

Japanese Last Name Generator

Generate random Japanese surnames with their meanings. Use the filters to match a first letter, length or rarity, then copy or save the ones you like.

Results (10)

  • Ito

    伊藤

    Wisteria of Ise; Fujiwara descent

  • Yokoyama

    横山

    Side mountain

  • Shirai

    白井

    White well

  • Yamanaka

    山中

    In the mountains

  • Onodera

    小野寺

    Small field temple

  • Sugawara

    菅原

    Sedge plain; ancient scholarly clan

  • Saionji

    西園寺

    West garden temple; noble family

  • Igarashi

    五十嵐

    Fifty storms

  • Takemoto

    竹本

    Base of the bamboo

  • Tsuji

    辻

    Crossroads

Saved names

    Names you save will appear here. They stay in this browser only.

    Japanese

    Japan has over 100,000 surnames, more than any other East Asian country, because commoners chose their own when surnames became mandatory in 1875. Most describe a landscape feature: Yamamoto (base of the mountain), Tanaka (middle of the rice field), Kobayashi (small forest). Family name comes first in Japanese order: Satō Hanako.

    The same kanji can be read different ways and the same sound can be written with different kanji, so pick the kanji as well as the romanization. Sato, Suzuki and Takahashi are the big three; rarer names feel aristocratic or regional.

    Popular Japanese last names and meanings

    Surname Meaning
    Abe阿部 Ancient clan name of uncertain meaning
    Aoki青木 Green tree
    Baba馬場 Horse-riding ground
    Endo遠藤 Far + wisteria; Fujiwara of Totomi province
    Fujii藤井 Wisteria well
    Fujita藤田 Wisteria rice field
    Fujiwara藤原 Wisteria plain; ancient noble clan
    Fukuda福田 Fortunate rice field
    Fukushima福島 Fortunate island
    Goto後藤 Literally after + wisteria; Fujiwara branch
    Hasegawa長谷川 Long valley river
    Hashimoto橋本 Base of the bridge
    Hayashi林 Forest; grove
    Higuchi樋口 Mouth of the water channel
    Hirata平田 Flat rice field
    Ikeda池田 Pond rice field
    Inoue井上 Above the well
    Ishii石井 Stone well
    Ishikawa石川 Stone river
    Ito伊藤 Wisteria of Ise; Fujiwara descent
    Iwamoto岩本 Base of the rock
    Iwata岩田 Rock rice field
    Kato加藤 Wisteria of Kaga; Fujiwara branch
    Kawaguchi川口 River mouth
    Kawamura川村 River village
    Kawano河野 River field
    Kimura木村 Tree village
    Kobayashi小林 Small forest
    Kondo近藤 Near + wisteria; Fujiwara of Omi province
    Kubota久保田 Rice field in the hollow
    Maeda前田 Front rice field
    Matsumoto松本 Base of the pine tree
    Matsuura松浦 Pine bay
    Miura三浦 Three bays
    Miyake三宅 Three houses; from miyake, an imperial granary estate
    Mori森 Forest
    Murakami村上 Above the village
    Nagano長野 Long field
    Nagata永田 Eternal rice field
    Nakajima中島 Middle island
    Nakamura中村 Middle village
    Nakata中田 Middle rice field
    Nishida西田 West rice field
    Nishimura西村 West village
    Ogawa小川 Small river
    Ohashi大橋 Great bridge
    Okada岡田 Hill rice field
    Oshima大島 Large island
    Ota太田 Great rice field
    Ozawa小沢 Small swamp
    Saito斎藤 Purification wisteria; Fujiwara branch
    Sakaguchi坂口 Entrance to the slope
    Sakamoto坂本 Base of the slope
    Sasaki佐々木 Helping tree
    Sato佐藤 Helper of the Fujiwara; help + wisteria
    Shimada島田 Island rice field
    Shimizu清水 Pure water
    Sugawara菅原 Sedge plain; ancient scholarly clan
    Suzuki鈴木 Bell tree
    Takahashi高橋 Tall bridge

    Frequently asked questions

    What is a Japanese last name generator?

    A Japanese last name generator suggests random Japanese surnames so you can name a character, test a full name or explore a family heritage. This one holds 336 real names, each with its meaning, and lets you filter by first letter, last letter, length and popularity.

    How many Japanese last names are in this generator?

    This origin currently has 336 curated surnames, each with a short meaning. New names are added over time.

    Can I get a Japanese last name starting with a certain letter?

    Yes. Type a letter into the "Starts with" filter above. You can combine it with length and popularity filters.

    Are these real Japanese surnames?

    Yes. Every name in this list is a real surname in use today, with its meaning taken from etymological records.

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