Japanese Last Names: Common and Meaningful

Looking for a unique and meaningful Japanese last name? This list compiles some of the most common Japanese surnames, along with their detailed meanings. Whether you're a writer crafting a compelling character or simply curious about Japanese culture, this comprehensive guide will provide insightful information about the origins and significance behind these last names.
1. **Abe:** meaning "flat field" or "open field"
2. **Aihara:** meaning "blue field" or "field of blue flowers"
3. **Aizawa:** meaning "blue pond" or "pond of blue water"
4. **Akagi:** meaning "red mountain" or "mountain of red leaves"
5. **Akama:** meaning "red earth" or "red soil"
6. **Aoki:** meaning "green tree" or "tree with green leaves"
7. **Arakawa:** meaning "rough river" or "river with rapids"
8. **Arai:** meaning "washing" or "to wash"
9. **Asai:** meaning "morning dew" or "dew of the morning"
10. **Asano:** meaning "morning field" or "field of the morning"
11. **Baba:** meaning "father" or "old man"
12. **Fujii:** meaning "second tree" or "tree next to another tree"
13. **Fujimoto:** meaning "tree root" or "root of a tree"
14. **Fujita:** meaning "tree field" or "field of trees"
15. **Fukuda:** meaning "rice field" or "field of rice"
16. **Fukui:** meaning "abundant fruit" or "fruitful land"
17. **Fukuoka:** meaning "fortunate place" or "place of happiness"
18. **Fukushima:** meaning "fortunate island" or "island of happiness"
19. **Funakoshi:** meaning "ship shore" or "shore where ships dock"
20. **Goto:** meaning "five places" or "five villages"
21. **Hagiwara:** meaning "Japanese clover field" or "field of Japanese clover"
22. **Hamada:** meaning "beach field" or "field near the beach"
23. **Hanada:** meaning "flower field" or "field of flowers"
24. **Hara:** meaning "field" or "plain"
25. **Hashimoto:** meaning "bridge root" or "root of a bridge"
26. **Hayashi:** meaning "forest" or "woods"
27. **Higuchi:** meaning "high ground" or "high hill"
28. **Hirai:** meaning "flat land" or "flat field"
29. **Hirano:** meaning "flat field" or "field of flat land"
30. **Honda:** meaning "original field" or "first field"
31. **Horie:** meaning "ditch" or "channel"
32. **Hosoda:** meaning "thin field" or "narrow field"
33. **Ichikawa:** meaning "one river" or "single river"
34. **Ikeda:** meaning "rice field" or "field of rice"
35. **Imai:** meaning "well" or "spring"
36. **Inaba:** meaning "rice field" or "field of rice"
37. **Inoue:** meaning "well within" or "inside the well"
38. **Ishikawa:** meaning "stone river" or "river of stones"
39. **Ito:** meaning "thread" or "string"
40. **Iwai:** meaning "celebration" or "festive occasion"
41. **Iwamoto:** meaning "rock base" or "base of a rock"
42. **Izumi:** meaning "spring" or "source of water"
43. **Kagawa:** meaning "river mouth" or "mouth of a river"
44. **Kajiwara:** meaning "rudder field" or "field of rudders"
45. **Kakimoto:** meaning "chestnut tree root" or "root of a chestnut tree"
46. **Kamada:** meaning "curved field" or "field with a curve"
47. **Kaneko:** meaning "golden child" or "child of gold"
48. **Kato:** meaning "hill" or "small hill"
49. **Kawaguchi:** meaning "river mouth" or "mouth of a river"
50. **Kawasaki:** meaning "river shore" or "shore of a river"
51. **Kido:** meaning "road" or "pathway"
52. **Kimura:** meaning "golden village" or "village of gold"
53. **Kitagawa:** meaning "north river" or "river to the north"
54. **Kobayashi:** meaning "small forest" or "small woods"
55. **Koda:** meaning "ancient field" or "old field"
56. **Kodama:** meaning "mountain spirit" or "spirit of the mountain"
57. **Kojima:** meaning "small island" or "tiny island"
58. **Komatsu:** meaning "small pine tree" or "small pine forest"
59. **Kondo:** meaning "golden field" or "field of gold"
60. **Konishi:** meaning "west mountain" or "mountain to the west"
61. **Kosaka:** meaning "small hill" or "small slope"
62. **Kudo:** meaning "empty field" or "empty space"
63. **Kumagai:** meaning "bear valley" or "valley of bears"
64. **Kuroda:** meaning "black field" or "field of black soil"
65. **Maeda:** meaning "front field" or "field in front"
66. **Matsui:** meaning "pine tree inside" or "pine tree in the middle"
67. **Matsuda:** meaning "pine tree field" or "field of pine trees"
68. **Matsumoto:** meaning "pine tree base" or "base of a pine tree"
69. **Matsuoka:** meaning "pine tree hill" or "hill of pine trees"
70. **Matsuyama:** meaning "pine tree mountain" or "mountain of pine trees"
71. **Minami:** meaning "south" or "southern part"
72. **Mishima:** meaning "three islands" or "three villages"
73. **Mitsui:** meaning "three wells" or "three springs"
74. **Miura:** meaning "beautiful harbor" or "beautiful bay"
75. **Miyamoto:** meaning "source of the river" or "origin of the river"
76. **Mizutani:** meaning "water valley" or "valley of water"
77. **Mori:** meaning "forest" or "woods"
78. **Murakami:** meaning "village of leaves" or "village with many leaves"
79. **Nagai:** meaning "long field" or "long stretch of land"
80. **Nagano:** meaning "long field" or "long stretch of land"
81. **Nagata:** meaning "long field" or "long stretch of land"
82. **Nakagawa:** meaning "middle river" or "river in the middle"
83. **Nakamura:** meaning "middle village" or "village in the middle"
84. **Nakayama:** meaning "middle mountain" or "mountain in the middle"
85. **Naito:** meaning "inside the field" or "inner field"
86. **Nakanishi:** meaning "west of the field" or "field to the west"
87. **Nakano:** meaning "middle field" or "field in the middle"
88. **Narita:** meaning "orange field" or "field of oranges"
89. **Nashimoto:** meaning "pear tree root" or "root of a pear tree"
90. **Nishi:** meaning "west" or "western part"
91. **Nishikawa:** meaning "west river" or "river to the west"
92. **Nishimoto:** meaning "west root" or "root to the west"
93. **Nishiyama:** meaning "west mountain" or "mountain to the west"
94. **Noguchi:** meaning "field of rice" or "rice field"
95. **Nojiri:** meaning "lake of rice" or "lake with rice"
96. **Nomura:** meaning "village of rice" or "village with rice"
97. **Ogawa:** meaning "big river" or "large river"
98. **Ohara:** meaning "big field" or "large field"
99. **Ohashi:** meaning "big bridge" or "large bridge"
100. **Okada:** meaning "big field" or "large field"
101. **Okamoto:** meaning "mountain base" or "base of a mountain"
102. **Okamura:** meaning "big village" or "large village"
103. **Okuyama:** meaning "mountain behind" or "mountain in the back"
104. **Ono:** meaning "big rice field" or "large rice field"
105. **Saito:** meaning "western field" or "field to the west"
106. **Sakamoto:** meaning "cherry blossom root" or "root of a cherry blossom tree"
107. **Sakurada:** meaning "cherry blossom field" or "field of cherry blossom trees"
108. **Sasaki:** meaning "small hill" or "small slope"
109. **Sato:** meaning "field" or "plain"
110. **Sawada:** meaning "rice field" or "field of rice"
111. **Shibata:** meaning "white field" or "field of white soil"
112. **Shimada:** meaning "island field" or "field near an island"
113. **Shimamoto:** meaning "island base" or "base of an island"
114. **Shimizu:** meaning "clear water" or "pure water"
115. **Shimoyama:** meaning "lower mountain" or "mountain on the lower side"
116. **Shioda:** meaning "salt field" or "field of salt"
117. **Suzuki:** meaning "bell tree" or "tree with a bell"
118. **Tachibana:** meaning "orange tree" or "tree with oranges"
119. **Takada:** meaning "high field" or "field on high ground"
120. **Takahashi:** meaning "high bridge" or "bridge on high ground"
121. **Takagi:** meaning "high mountain" or "mountain on high ground"
122. **Takahashi:** meaning "high bridge" or "bridge on high ground"
123. **Takayama:** meaning "high mountain" or "mountain on high ground"
124. **Takeda:** meaning "high field" or "field on high ground"
125. **Takeuchi:** meaning "inside the bamboo grove" or "bamboo grove within"
126. **Tanaka:** meaning "rice field in the valley" or "rice field in the low land"
127. **Taniguchi:** meaning "valley mouth" or "mouth of a valley"
128. **Tani:** meaning "valley" or "low land"
129. **Terada:** meaning "rice field" or "field of rice"
130. **Terajima:** meaning "island field" or "field on an island"
131. **Terasaki:** meaning "three fields" or "three villages"
132. **Toda:** meaning "abundant" or "plentiful"
133. **Tokuda:** meaning "special field" or "unique field"
134. **Tokunaga:** meaning "long special field" or "long unique field"
135. **Tomita:** meaning "rice field" or "field of rice"
136. **Tominaga:** meaning "long rice field" or "long field of rice"
137. **Toyoda:** meaning "abundant rice field" or "abundant field of rice"
138. **Tsuda:** meaning "field in the middle" or "middle field"
139. **Tsukada:** meaning "moon field" or "field of the moon"
140. **Tsuji:** meaning "crossroad" or "intersection"
141. **Uchida:** meaning "inside the field" or "inner field"
142. **Ueda:** meaning "upper field" or "field on high ground"
143. **Ueno:** meaning "upper field" or "field on high ground"
144. **Uesugi:** meaning "upper field" or "field on high ground"
145. **Wada:** meaning "field" or "plain"
146. **Wakabayashi:** meaning "young forest" or "young woods"
147. **Watanabe:** meaning "crossing the field" or "crossing the plain"
148. **Yamada:** meaning "mountain field" or "field near a mountain"
149. **Yamaguchi:** meaning "mountain mouth" or "mouth of a mountain"
150. **Yamamoto:** meaning "mountain base" or "base of a mountain"
151. **Yamanaka:** meaning "mountain middle" or "middle of a mountain"
152. **Yamashita:** meaning "mountain foot" or "foot of a mountain"
153. **Yasuda:** meaning "peaceful field" or "quiet field"
154. **Yatabe:** meaning "eight fields" or "eight villages"
155. **Yokoyama:** meaning "mountain side" or "side of a mountain"
156. **Yoshida:** meaning "good field" or "good land"
157. **Yoshimura:** meaning "good village" or "good place"
158. **Yuasa:** meaning "abundant well" or "well with abundant water"