Nakamura
A common Japanese surname meaning “middle village” or “central village.”
The #4,633 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,317 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Nakamura is a Japanese surname built from naka, meaning “middle” or “center,” and mura, meaning “village.” Taken together, the name originally referred to someone from a village in the middle of a district, a settlement in the center of an area, or a place called Nakamura. As with many Japanese surnames, it is toponymic in form and may have arisen independently in more than one locality.
History
The surname is long established in Japan and is especially common there. It is also well known abroad through Japanese migration, especially to the United States, Brazil, and other countries with Japanese diaspora communities. Several notable bearers have helped make the name familiar internationally, including the singer and actress Hibari Nakamura and the film director Shunji Iwai’s frequent collaborator, but the surname itself has many unrelated family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because naka means “middle,” Nakamura is one of several Japanese surnames that describe a settlement’s position rather than a clan title or occupation.