According to the Japan times, Japan has  more than 100,000 family names now in use in today.   That is more than the 200 in Korea and comparable to the the few thousands in China but still behind the US which has around million surnames.

Can you guess which are the most common family names in Japan?  Here are the top 100 most common Japanese family names these days

1. Sato
2. Suzuki
3. Takahashi
4. Tanaka
5. Watanabe
6. Ito
7. Yamamoto
8. Nakamura
9. Kobayashi
10. Kato
11. Yoshida
12. Yamada
13. Sasaki
14. Yamaguchi
15. Saito
16. Matsumoto
17. Inoue
18. Kimura
19. Hayashi
20. Shimizu
21. Yamazaki
22. Mori
23. Abe
24. Ikeda
25. Hashimoto
26. Yamashita
27. Ishikawa
28. Nakajima
29. Maeda
30. Fujita
31. Ogawa
32. Goto
33. Okada
34. Hasegawa
35. Murakami
36. Kondo
37. Ishii
38. Saito (different kanji)
39. Sakamoto
40. Endo
41. Aoki
42. Fujii
43. Nishimura
44. Fukuda
45. Ota
46. Miura
47. Fujiwara
48. Okamoto
49. Matsuda
50. Nakagawa
51. Nakano
52. Harada
53. Ono
54. Tamura
55. Takeuchi
56. Kaneko
57. Wada
58. Nakayama
59. Ishida
60. Ueda
61. Morita
62. Hara
63. Shibata
64. Sakai
65. Kudo
66. Yokoyama
67. Miyazaki
68. Miyamoto
69. Uchida
70. Takagi
71. Ando
72. Taniguchi
73. Ohno
74. Maruyama
75. Imai
76. Takada
77. Fujimoto
78. Takeda
79. Murata
80. Ueno
81. Sugiyama
82. Masuda
83. Sugawara
84. Hirano
85. Kojima
86. Otsuka
87. Chiba
88. Kubo
89. Matsui
90. Iwasaki
91. Sakurai
92. Kinoshita
93. Noguchi
94. Matsuo
95. Nomura
96. Kikuchi
97. Sano
98. Onishi
99. Sugimoto
100. Arai

Source: Japantimes

Here are some common and popular Japanese boys and girls FIRST names beginning A-F
Names G-L here, M-Z here.

The gender of a person can normally be guessed by the ending of his/her first name. First names ending with -ro, -shi, -ya, or -o are typically male whilest names ending in -ko, -mi, -e and -yo are typically female.

AI female, means “love”

AIKO female, means “love child”

AIMI female, means “love beauty”

AKANE female, means “brilliant red”

AKEMI female, means “bright and beautiful”

AKI female and male, means either “autumn” or “bright”

AKIKO female and male, means either “autumn child” or “bright child”

AKIRA male and female, means “intelligence, brightness”

AMI female, means “second beauty” or “Asian beauty”

AOI female, means either “blue” or “hollyhock”

ARATA male, means “freshness”

ARISU female, is the Japanese form of ALICE

ASUKA female, means “tomorrow fragrance”

ATSUKO female, means “warm child”

AYA female, means “colourful” or “woven silk”

AYAKA female, means either “colourful flower” or “colourful fragrant” or “colourful summer”

AYAKO female, means “colourful child”

AYAME female, means “iris”

AYANO female, means either “of colour” or “of silk”

CHIKA female, means “wisdom”

CHIKAKO female, means “child of wisdo

CHINATSU female, means “a thousand summers”

CHIYO female, means “a thousand generations”

CHIYOKO female, means “child of a thousand generations”

CHO female, means “butterfly”

DAICHI male, means either “great first son” or “great land”

DAIKI male, means either “great tree” or “great shining” or “great valuable”

DAISUKE male, means “great help”

EMI female, means “blessed with beauty”

ETSUKO female, means “delightful child” ]]> http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/common-and-popular-japanese-names-a-f/feed/ 0 http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/common-and-popular-japanese-names-g-l/ http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/common-and-popular-japanese-names-g-l/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:31:45 +0000 admin http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/?p=81 Here are some common and popular Japanese boys and girls FIRST names beginning G-E.

Names A-F here, M-Z here.
The gender of a person can normally be guessed by the ending of his/her first name. First names ending with -ro, -shi, -ya, or -o are typically male whilest names ending in -ko, -mi, -e and -yo are typically female.

GA female means “silver”

GORO male, means “fifth son”

HACHIRO male, means “eighth son”

HANA female, “favourite” or “flower”

HANAKO female, means “flower child”

HARUKA female, means “far off”

HARUKO female, means “sprg child” or “sunny child”

HIDEAKI male, means “excellent and bright”

HIDEKI male, means “honour and pleasure”

HIDEYOSHI male, “good sun”

HIKARI female, means “light” or “shg”

HIKARU male and female, means “light” or “shg”

HIRAKU male and female, means “to open, to beg, to expand”

HIROKO female, means “generous child”

HIROSHI male, means “generous”

HITOMI female, males “doubly beautiful” or “eye”

HOSHI female, means “star”

HOSHIKO female, means “star child”

HOTAKA male, from the name of a mounta Japan

HOTARU female, means “firefly”

ICHIRO male, means “first son”

ISAMU male, means “bravery”

IZUMI female, means “founta, sprg”

JIRO male, means “second son”

JUNKO female, means “pure child”

JURO male, means “tenth son”

KAEDE female, means “maple”

KAORI female, means “fragrance”

KAORU male and female, means “fragrance”

KASUMI female, means “mist”

KATASHI male, means “firmness”

KATSU male, means “victory”

KATSUO male, means “victorious child”

KATSURO male, means “victorious son”

KAZUKI male, means either “pleasant peace” or “first of a new generation” or “shg one”

KAZUKO female, means “pleasant child”

KAZUO male, means “pleasant son”

KEIKO female, means “respectful child” or “celebration child”

KEN male, means “strong, healthy”

KEN’ICHI male, means “strong first son”

KENJI male, means “strong second son”

KENTA male, means “healthy and stout”

KICHIRO male, means “lucky son”

KIKU female, means “chrysanthemum”

KEIKO female, means “noble child” or “truth child”

KIYOKO female, means “clean child”

KIYOSHI male, means “purity”

KOHAKU male and female, means “amber”

KOTONE female, means “harp sound”

KUMIKO female, means “eternal beautiful child”

KURO male, means “nth son”

KYO male, means “large” or “approval” or “gger”

Names A-F here, G-L here.

The gender of a person can normally be guessed by the ending of his/her first name. First names ending with -ro, -shi, -ya, or -o are typically male whilest names ending in -ko, -mi, -e and -yo are typically female.

MAI female, means “dance”

MAKOTO male and female, means “scerity”

MAMI female, means “true beauty”

MANAMI female, means “love beauty”

MARIKO female, means “true reason child”

MASAMI male and female, means “grace and beauty”

MASARU male, means victory”

MASUYO male, means “to crease the world”

MAYU female, means “true reason”

MEGUMI female, means “blessg”

MICHI female, means “pathway”

MICHIKO female, means “beautiful wise child”

MIDORI female, means “green”

MIKI female, means “beauty generation” or “beauty tree”

MAKO female, means “beautiful child”

MORU male, means “seed”

MISAKI female, means “beautiful blossom”

MITSUKO female, means “child of light”

MIU female, means “beautiful feather”

MIYAKO female, means “beautiful March child”

MIZUKI female, means “beautiful moon”

MOE female, means “bud”

MOMOKO female, means “peach child”

MORIKO female, means “forest child”

NANA female, means “apple”

NANAMI female, means “seven seas”

NAOKI male, means “honest tree”

NAOKO female, means “obedient child”

NAOMI female, means “above all, beauty”

NATSUKI female, means “summer hope”

NATSUKO female, means “summer child”

NATSUMI female, means “beautiful summer”

NOBU male, means either “expansion” or “truth”

NOBURU male, means “to climb, to ascend”

NOBUYUKI male, means “truthful happess”

NORI male, means “rule, law”

NORIKO female, means “law child”

OSAMU male, means “law abidg”

OTONASHI male and female, means “no sound”

RAN female, means “orchid”

REI female, means either “thanks” or “grace” or “worship”

REN female, means “water lily”

RIKO female, means “jasme child”

ROKURO male, means “sixth son”

RYO male, means “excellent”

RYOICHI male, means “excellent one”

RYOTA male, means splendidly stout”

RYOUTA male, means “well built”

RYUU male, means “dragon”

SABURO male, means “third son”

SACHIKO female, means “child of bliss”

SAKI female, means “cape, headland”

SAKURA female, means “cherry blossom”

SATOMI female, means “three tens”

SAYURI female, means “small lily”

SETSUKO female, means “festival child”

SHICHIRO male, means “seventh son”

SHOBU female, means “to endure”

SHIORI female, means “woven violet item” or “woven poem”

SHIRO male, means “fourth son”

SHIZUKA female, means “quiet”

SHO male, means “thrivg” or “brilliant”

SORA female, means “sky”

SUMIKO female, means “permanent child”

SUSUMU male, means “advancement”

SUZU female, means “bell”

SUZUME female, means “sparrow”

TAIKI male, means “large radiance”

TAKAHIRO male, means “valuable and great”

TAKAKO female, means “lofty child”

TAKARA female, means “treasure”

TAKASHI male, means “emence”

TAKEHIKO male, means either “bamboo prce” or “soldier prce”

TAKESHI male, means either “bamboo tree” or “brave”

TAKUMI male, means “artisan”

TAMIKO female, means “abundance child”

TARO male, means “first born son”

TOMIKO female, means “child of wealth”

TOMOKO female, means “wisdom child”

TOMOMI female, means “beautiful friend”

TSUBAKI female, means “camellia flower”

TSUBAME female, means “swallow (the bird)”

TSUBASA male, means “wing”

TSUKIKO female, means “moon child”

UME female, means “plum blossom”

UMEKO female, means “plum blossom child”

YASU female, means “calm”

YOKO female, means either “sun child” or “chrysanthemum child” or “ocean child”

YORI male, means “dependence”

YOSHI male and female, means either “goodness, luck” or “free”

YOSHIKO female, means “good child” or “free child”

YOSHIRO male, means “good son” or “free son”

YUKI male and female, means “snow” or “luck”

YUKIKO female, means “snow child”

YUMI female, means the elements yu “reason” or “bow” and mi “beautiful”

YUMIKO female, means the elements yu “reason”, mi “beautiful” and ko “child”

YURI female, means “lily”

YUU male and female, means “superior” or “gentle”

YUUDAI male, means “great hero”

YUUKA female, means “excellent aroma”

YUUKI male and female, means “helpful pleasure”

Here’s a handy list if you’re learning Japanese and want to know your country’s name in Japanese characters. This will impress your Japanese friends when you are chatting to them online and the Japanese immigration officer if you can write your country’s name on the arrival form!

亜細亜 – Asia

大洋洲 – Pacific Islands

欧羅巴 – Europe

阿弗利加 – Africa

亜米利加 – The Americas

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