Save Type Surname (from location) Usage Japanese Scripts 山口(Japanese Kanji) やまぐち(Japanese Hiragana) Pronounced Pron. YA-MA-GOO-CHEE [key·IPA] Meaning & History From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance". Olympic figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi (1971-) bears this name. Categories body parts, kickboxers, landforms