Type Surname (from location) Usage Japanese Scripts 上杉(Japanese Kanji) うえすぎ(Japanese Hiragana) Pronounced Pron. /ɯᵝ.e̞.sɨᵝ.ɡʲi/ Meaning & History From Japanese 上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and 杉 (sugi) meaning "cedar".