Message: "Japanese family name Katayama"

Japanese family name Katayama

by Helen (guest)

7/29/2010, 7:53 AM

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows what the Japanese family name 'Katayama' means? I have read that it means 'mountain on the side' but elsewhere that it means 'genius'. Is it one or the other, or both?

#Japanese

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- Siegfried (guest)

7/30/2010, 4:28 AM

The kanji form is: 片山.
片 (kata) means: "one part of a two-way pair" or "partial".
山 (yama) means: "mountain, hill, peak".

- Marc (guest) +3

7/29/2010, 10:28 AM

You'll find the origin of Katayama at http://www.ancestry.com/facts/katayama-name-meaning.ashx

- Helen (guest) +2

7/30/2010, 8:34 AM

Thanks Marc and Siegfried for your help. So clearly the page I saw that said it means 'genius' was wrong. :)

- Marc (guest) +1

7/30/2010, 8:49 AM

From what I can see, no one is actually claiming that Katayama actually means 'genius', only that certain people with that surname can be considered as such.

- Helen (guest)

7/30/2010, 11:44 AM

I see. In that case, I mos likely misinterpreted a page making this kind of statement. I admit I saw that page some years ago so my memory may have failed me. Thanks again Marc.

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