![]() Although it is said that there are several roots of the surname Watanabe, the most believed theory is that it comes from the occupation “渡部 (Watabe)” a ferryman job from long ago. You may not believe this, but there are 58 different surnames in total that are pronounced Watanabe! The kanji 渡 (Wata) means “to pass” and 辺 (be) means “around” or “neighborhood”. In addition to 渡辺, another common surname with the same pronunciation is written 渡邊 (Watanabe). The sixth most common surname in Japan is “渡辺 (Watanabe)”, with about 1,059,000 people nationwide. The descendant came to Ise (present-day Mie Prefecture) and started using it as a surname by combining “伊 (I)” from 伊勢 (Ise) with “藤 (to)” of 藤原 (Fujiwara). The origin of this surname is said to have started from one of the descendants of the Fujiwara clan (藤原氏), like the Sato surname. This surname is especially common in Mie Prefecture, and seems to have originated there as well. In addition to the Ito surname with these specific kanji, there is another surname with the same pronunciation but different kanji, 伊東 (Ito). With an estimated 1,069,000 people, “伊藤 (Ito)” is the fifth most common surname in Japan. Japan has a long history and culture of harvesting and eating rice, which may have also influenced where this surname came from. It is said that the roots of this surname started from the fact that many people literally worked in the middle of rice fields. The meaning of this compound is 田 (ta) meaning “rice field” and 中 (naka) meaning “inside” or “middle”. There are about 1,330,000 people in Japan with this surname, and most of them live in the western part of the country. TanakaĬoming in at number 4 in the rankings is “田中 (Tanaka)”. It is said that when the bridge was seen from the ground, it appeared to be much higher than it actually was, therefore the people living there began to call themselves “Takahashi”. Although there are many theories about the origin of this surname as well, the most popular one is that it originated from a bridge built over a ravine in Yamato Province(present-day Nara Prefecture). The kanji 高 (taka) means “high” and 橋 (hashi) means “bridge”. The third most common surname is “高橋 (Takahashi)”, with about 1,405,000 people. The stick used in this ritual was called “すすき (Susuki)”, which is thought to have been the origin of the Suzuki family name. ![]() However, the most popular one is a theory that the name originated in the Kumano region of Kii (紀伊, present-day Wakayama and the southern part of Mie prefecture), where there was a ritual of putting a stick into a pile of rice straw after harvesting to pray for a good harvest for the next year. There are many theories about the origin of the surname Suzuki. ![]() The kanji 鈴 (Suzu) means “bell”, and 木 (ki) means “wood”. You may know this name from the famous Japanese baseball player 鈴木一郎 (Ichiro Suzuki) who played for the Seattle Mariners in America. 鈴木 (Suzuki) is the second most common surname in Japan, with about 1,791,000 people nationwide. The surname “Sato” is said to have originated from one of the members of the Fujiwara clan (藤原氏), a famous noble family in ancient Japan, and the surname 佐藤 (Sato) is said to have started from there. The kanji 佐 (Sa) means “to help or assist”, and 藤 (to) means “wisteria flower”. It is said that there are currently about 1,862,000 people with the surname Sato in Japan, and most of them live in the Tohoku region. The surname at the top of the rankings and most used in all of Japan is 佐藤(Sato). Other articles you might be interested in.
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