Question
Updated on
20 Nov 2020
- English (US)
- Indonesian
- Javanese
-
Japanese
-
Korean
-
English (UK)
Question about Japan
I sometimes see some Japanese will use the name of a place / city as their family name (for example: Shibuya ○○, or Chiba ○○). Are these names just coincidentally the same as the name of the place? Or do they purposely use the name of the places as their own?
I sometimes see some Japanese will use the name of a place / city as their family name (for example: Shibuya ○○, or Chiba ○○). Are these names just coincidentally the same as the name of the place? Or do they purposely use the name of the places as their own?
Answers
Read more comments
- Country or region Japan
That's not a coincidence.
Originally, the people who have territories take their own name from the land name.
Because they are inherited, now there are a lot of people who unrelated it.
Was this answer helpful?
- Country or region Japan
Some are related while others not.
Basically, yes, many Japanese family names are derived from place names. There are hundreds of thousands of studies on this topic.
The same place name can be found in other places, and they can change through the history, and family names also. So it does not mean that a Chiba today has some special affection to Chiba prefecture!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba_clan
I know some cities that have my family name, but I can’t trace back my family history to any of those places. Moreover, my family name is a depiction of a very common geographical feature; it can be anywhere!
Was this answer helpful?
- Country or region Indonesia
Thank you everybody for the explanation. They are very insightful. All this time I thought that using the name of places as their own names is just like using a nickname so that they can hide their original names, you know, just like a stage name for many artists. Hmm hmm. Now i understand.
[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!
Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by both native speakers and AI 📝✨.
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by both native speakers and AI 📝✨.
Sign up
Related questions
Recommended Questions
- Why is sitting on the floor for eating, drinking, reading, sleeping etc a prevalent culture in Ja...
- 日本の女性は妊娠したら、まだ刺身を食べますか
- 日本で、女性の場合も「僕」を使えますか?
- Why does this sentence end with なんで? 指名してくれる客つけないとーまた便所掃除に逆戻りなんで
- 日本の地震予報(災害予報)のアプリは何がおすすめですか
Previous question/ Next question
Thank you! Rest assured your feedback will not be shown to other users.
Thank you very much! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.