Hello, Mr. Saito. This is an explanation of the origin of the surname Saito, which is shared by your ancestors and friends.
Its origin dates back to the Heian period when Fujiwara no Toshihito’s son, who was appointed as the head of the Saikyū (Sacred Palace Maiden) at Ise Shrine, adopted the name “Saito” by combining the “Sai” from ‘Saikyū’ and the “Fuji” from the Fujiwara clan.
Since the Saikyō-no-kami was from the Fujiwara clan, the original spelling used the traditional character “齋” (Sai). However, because “齋” was difficult to write, it was increasingly substituted with the alternative character “齊” (pronounced “Sei”). Consequently, the simplified characters ‘斎’ and “斉” became the standard forms.
This kanji form of Saito is the most common in Japan.
This kanji form of Saito is the most common in Japan.
Then, during the Meiji period, when registering in the family registry, even more misspellings emerged. It’s said there were as many as 85 different variations. Around the beginning of the Heisei era, when family registries were computerized in various regions, many people corrected their characters to the proper form. Even so, it seems about 20 different spellings still remain.
Explanation of this calligraphy of the surname Saito
The top row is in hiragana, the middle row is in kanji, and the bottom row is in katakana, all written horizontally.
Clasificación de apellidos de estadounidenses de origen japonés (Oficina del Censo de EE. UU., encuesta de 1990)
This ranks 17th in the Japanese American rankings.
| Apellido | Kanji | Suplemento | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanaka |  |
4º en Japón |
| 2 | Yamamoto |   |
8º en Japón |
| 3 | Nakamura |   ・・・ |
7º en Japón |
| 4 | Watanabe |   ・・・ |
6º en Japón |
| 5 | Sato |  |
1º en Japón |
| 6 | Yamada |  |
12º en Japón |
| 7 | Kimura |  (escrito verticalmente) |
17º en Japón |
| 8 | Suzuki |   (escrito verticalmente) |
2º en Japón |
| 9 | Kato |  |
10º en Japón |
| 10 | Yoshida |  |
11º en Japón |
| 11 | Takahashi |  |
3º en Japón |
| 12 | Higa |  |
1.º en Okinawa , Japón |
| 13 | Kobayashi |  |
9º en Japón |
| 14 | Nakano |   ・・・ |
46º en Japón |
| 15 | Hayashi |  |
20 en Japón |
| 16 | Hashimoto |  |
24º en Japón |
| 17 | Saito |   ・・・ |
19º en Japón |
| 18 | Sasaki |  |
13º en Japón |
| 19 | Mori |   ・・・ |
22º en Japón |
| 20 | matsumoto |  (escrito verticalmente)  |
15º en Japón |
