Ito in Kanji (include wisteria in kanji)

It is the fifth most common surname in Japan.

The surname Ito was adopted by descendants of Fujiwara no Hidesato, a warrior of the Fujiwara clan descended from Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–69), a senior minister of Emperor Tenji, the 38th emperor.
They primarily took the name Ito by combining the first kanji character “伊” (I) from their place of residence, Ise (present-day Mie Prefecture), and the character “藤” (Fuji) from the Fujiwara family name.
Another origin stems from the Fujiwara Nankai clan. Some members of the Kudo clan (named after the official title “Kudo no Sukesuke” for woodworking) settled in Ito, Izu. They adopted the names “Ito” and ‘Ito’ from “Kudo of Ito.” There is a theory that when leaving the Ito region, they consciously chose the name “Ito” to emphasize their Fujiwara lineage.

There are slightly over one million Japanese people bearing the Ito surname.

This population is comparable to cities such as

• San Jose, California, USA
• Austin, Texas, USA
• Birmingham, West Midlands, UK
• Cologne, Germany

Japanese American Surname Ranking (U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Survey)

It ranks 21st among Japanese-American surnames.