Save Type Surname (from location) Usage Japanese Scripts 前川(Japanese Kanji) まえかわ(Japanese Hiragana) Pronounced Pron. /mä.e̞.kä.ɰᵝä/ [key·simplify] Meaning & History From Japanese 前 (mae) meaning "front, forward" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream". Related Names Rootsmae + kawa