Hello, Mr. Yoshida. This is an explanation of the origin of the surname Yoshida, which is shared by your ancestors and friends.

There are two main theories regarding the origin of the name: one is based on the place name, and the other is derived from “Yoshida,” which refers to rice fields with positive connotations.

Cases derived from place names

The place name “Yoshida-cho” is said to have originated from the Muromachi period, when the area was covered with reeds and was called “Ashida” (reed field).
Since “Ashida” evoked the word “Ashi(悪し)” (bad), meaning “bad field,” the character ‘Yoshi(吉)’ (good) was used to name the area “Yoshida,” according to one theory.
However, “吉” (yoshi) is not the antonym of “悪し” (ashi); “良し” (yoshi) is the precise antonym. ‘吉’ (yoshi) is primarily a word meaning a good omen. Its antonym is “凶” (kyo).

The “good field” origin

Among the fields that were considered valuable assets, those that brought abundant and good harvests were called “Yoshida” from “good field.”
This name was derived by using the character “Yoshi(吉),” which is considered auspicious, to represent “Yoshida.”

Explanation of the calligraphy

The upper section features large pop-style calligraphy in kanji, while the lower section has hiragana on the left and katakana on the right.

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

Japanese surnames are the 10th most common among Japanese Americans.

	Nachname	Kanji	Supplement
1	Tanaka		4th in Japan
2	Yamamoto		8th in Japan
3	Nakamura	・・・	7th in Japan
4	Watanabe	・・・	6th in Japan
5	Sato		1st in Japan
6	Yamada		12th in Japan
7	Kimura	(written vertically)	17th in Japan
8	Suzuki	(written vertically)	2nd in Japan
9	Kato		10th in Japan
10	Yoshida		11th in Japan
11	Takahashi		3rd in Japan
12	Higa		1st in Okinawa, Japan
13	Kobayashi		9th in Japan
14	Nakano	・・・	46th in Japan
15	Hayashi		20th in Japan
16	Hashimoto		24th in Japan
17	Saito	・・・	19th in Japan
18	Sasaki		13th in Japan
19	Mori	・・・	22th in Japan
20	Matsumoto	(written vertically)	15th in Japan