There are two types of kanji for this surname.
Their origins seem to differ depending on the era and location.
Origin of this surname
Originating from Ogata-cho, Bungo-Ono City, Oita Prefecture. A place name recorded during the Nara period. It is said to have begun when Ōmiwa no Yoshiomi entered Ogata-go in 886 (Ninna 2), and his descendants took the name Ogata. This refers to the kanji “緒方” in the upper row.
Additionally, there appears to be a surname originating from the place name “Okata” in Mitsushima-cho, Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is pronounced “Okata”.
Furthermore, in Soe-na, Waki-cho, Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, it is said the surname changed from “Ogata”. The kanji “尾形” in the lower row is thought to be the successor. Similar name changes appear to have occurred in other regions as well, with the Meiji era’s new surname policy being the presumed timeframe.
Description of this work
The top row is in hiragana, the middle row shows two types of kanji, and the bottom row is in katakana—all written horizontally.
Japanese American Surname Ranking (U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Survey)
This ranks 45th in the list.
| Surname | Kanji | Supplement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanaka | 田中 | 4th in Japan |
| 2 | Yamamoto | 山本 山元 | 8th in Japan |
| 3 | Nakamura | 中村 仲村 | 7th in Japan |
| 4 | Watanabe | 渡辺 渡部 ・・・ | 5th in Japan |
| 5 | Sato | 佐藤 | 1st in Japan |
| 6 | Yamada | 山田 | 12th in Japan |
| 7 | Kimura | 木村 (written vertically) | 17th in Japan |
| 8 | Suzuki | 鈴木 鈴木 (written vertically) | 2nd in Japan |
| 9 | Kato | 加藤 | 10th in Japan |
| 10 | Yoshida | 吉田 | 11th in Japan |
| 11 | Takahashi | 高橋 | 3rd in Japan |
| 12 | Higa | 比嘉 | 1st in Okinawa, Japan |
| 13 | Kobayashi | 小林 | 9th in Japan |
| 14 | Nakano | 中野 仲野 ・・・ | 46th in Japan |
| 15 | Hayashi | 林 | 20th in Japan |
| 16 | Hashimoto | 橋本 | 24th in Japan |
| 17 | Saito | 斎藤 斉藤 ・・・ | 19th in Japan |
| 18 | Sasaki | 佐々木 | 13th in Japan |
| 19 | Mori | 森 毛利 ・・・ | 22th in Japan |
| 20 | Matsumoto | 松本 (written vertically) 松元 | 15th in Japan |
| : | |||
| 45 | Ogata | 緒方・尾形 | |
