Ueda JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Uehara JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
Ueno JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Urano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Wada JapaneseFrom Japanese
和 (wa) meaning "harmony, peace" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Wang 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
王 (wáng) meaning
"king, monarch". This is the most common surname in China (and the world).
Wei ChineseFrom Chinese
魏 (wèi) referring to the ancient state of Wei, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong provinces.
Wen ChineseFrom Chinese
文 (wén) meaning
"literature, culture, writing".
Wu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
吴 (wú) referring to the ancient state of Wu, which was located in present-day Jiangsu province.
Xiao ChineseFrom Chinese
蕭 (xiāo) referring to the fiefdom or territory of Xiao (in present-day Anhui province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Xie ChineseFrom Chinese
谢 (xiè) referring to the minor state of Xie, which existed in what is now Hubei province.
Xu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
徐 (xú) referring to the ancient state of Xu, which existed to the 6th century BC in what is now Jiangsu and Anhui. The character
徐 means "slowly, calmly".
Xu 2 ChineseFrom Chinese
许 (xǔ) referring to the minor state of Xu, which existed to the 4th century BC in what is now Henan province. The character
许 means "allow, permit".
Yamaguchi JapaneseFrom Japanese
山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and
口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance". Olympic figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi (1971-) bears this name.
Yasuda JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or
保 (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yokota JapaneseFrom Japanese
横 (yoko) meaning "beside, next to" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
于 (yú) meaning
"in, on, at". According to legend, King Wu of Zhou bestowed the realm of Yu to his second son, who subsequently adopted this as his surname.
Yu 4 ChineseFrom Chinese
虞 (yú) meaning
"concerned, anxious" and also referring to the ancient state of Yu, which was situated in what is now Shanxi province.
Yūki JapaneseFrom Japanese
結 (yū) meaning "tie, bind" and
城 (ki) meaning "castle".
Yun KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
尹 (yun) meaning
"govern, oversee".
Zeng ChineseFrom Chinese
曾 (zēng) referring to the former state of Zeng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.
Zhang ChineseFrom Chinese
张 (zhāng) meaning
"stretch, extend". It may have denoted a bowmaker whose job it was to stretch bow wood.
Zhao ChineseFrom Chinese
赵 (zhào), which refers to an ancient city-state in what is now Shanxi province. According to legend, King Mu rewarded his chariot driver Zaofu with the city, at which time Zaofu adopted this surname. The later historic state of Zhao, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, was named after this city.
... [more] Zheng ChineseFrom Chinese
郑 (zhèng), which refers to the ancient state of Zheng. Zheng existed between the 9th to 4th centuries BC in present-day Henan province. A famous bearer of this surname was the 15th-century explorer Zheng He.
Zhou ChineseFrom Chinese
周 (zhōu) referring to the Zhou dynasty, which held power from 1046 to 771 BC, continuing for a few more centuries as figureheads.
Zhu ChineseFrom Chinese
朱 (zhū) meaning
"vermilion red, cinnabar" and also referring to the ancient state of Zhu, which existed in what is now Shandong province. This was the surname of the emperors of the Ming dynasty.