Okinawan Last Name Generator

Generate Okinawan last names from a list of 335 family names of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands: Shimabukuro, Gushiken, Zukeran and Chinen, Miyako names like Shimoji and Kawamitsu, and Yaeyama names like Miyara and Hateruma. Emigrant spellings and Okinawan-language readings follow in parentheses where they are recorded, as in Uehara (also Uyehara).

About Okinawan last names

Okinawan surnames stand apart from those of mainland Japan because most are place names of the islands themselves: villages, districts and castle sites. Under the Ryukyu Kingdom a gentry family was called by the land it held, and when ordinary families registered surnames after Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture in 1879, most took local place names too. The old readings were then turned into Japanese ones. Kanagusuku became Kinjo or Kaneshiro, Ufugusuku became Oshiro and Fija became Higa, which is why one written name can have two or three established readings. Many are written with three characters, such as Gushiken, Zukeran and Higashionna.

Given names in Okinawa today are ordinary Japanese given names, so the surname is what marks a name as Okinawan. A full name is the family name followed by the given name, as in Kinjo Haruto, or the other way round abroad. Older generations also had a childhood name used at home, such as Kamado, Ushi, Nabi or Chiru.

The list is shorter than most on this site on purpose. It keeps to family names that belong to Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama, and leaves out mainland surnames such as Sato and Suzuki that are simply common there as well. Parentheses give an emigrant spelling or an Okinawan-language reading of the same name.

How to choose Okinawan last names

• For a full Okinawan name, pair a surname from the list with an ordinary Japanese given name: Shimabukuro Misaki or Tamaki Ren. Put the family name first for a setting in Japan and last for one abroad.
• For a character born in Hawaii, Brazil or Peru, use the emigrant spelling in the parentheses. Uyehara, Uyema, Miyashiro and Kanashiro are how many families there have written their names for generations.
• For a story set in the Ryukyu Kingdom, use the Okinawan reading where one is given, such as Fija, Kanagusuku or Ufugusuku, and add a childhood name like Kamado, Ushi, Nabi or Chiru.
• Use the island as a hint. Shimoji, Sunagawa and Kawamitsu point to Miyako, and Miyara, Ohama and Hateruma to Yaeyama, but families move, so treat it as backstory and not as proof.
• An entry with parentheses is one family name in two forms, not two names. Choose one form and keep it for the whole family in your story.

Frequently asked questions

What are some common Okinawan last names?

Higa, Kinjo, Oshiro, Miyagi, Arakaki, Tamaki, Uehara and Shimabukuro are among the names you meet most often in Okinawa. Chinen, Gushiken, Nakasone, Yonamine and Teruya are also widely known, in the islands and in Okinawan communities abroad.

Why do Okinawan last names differ from other Japanese surnames?

Most come from place names of the Ryukyu Islands and were first said in the Ryukyuan languages, which are related to Japanese but distinct from it. After 1879 the readings were changed to Japanese ones while the characters stayed, so names like Zukeran, Kyan and Nakandakari look and sound unlike anything from the mainland.

Are Kinjo and Kaneshiro the same name?

They are two readings of the same written name, and families treat them as separate surnames today. The same is true of Arakaki and Shingaki, Shimabukuro and Shimabuku, Arashiro and Shinjo, and Shiroma and Gusukuma, so each of those has its own entry in the list.

Does one of these surnames prove Okinawan ancestry?

No. A surname is a strong hint and nothing more. A few names in the list, such as Uehara, Yamashiro and Toyama, are also found as unrelated mainland surnames, and names pass on through marriage and adoption like anywhere else.

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All 335 Okinawan last names