1.
surname; family name; last name
A person's family name, as opposed to their given name. In Japanese culture, the surname comes first when writing or saying a full name.
苗字は何ですか。
What is your last name?
結婚して苗字が変わった。
My last name changed when I got married.
日本で一番多い苗字は佐藤だと言われている。
It's said that the most common surname in Japan is Sato.
苗字 and 名字 are variant spellings of the same word; both are common. The more formal synonym is 姓.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 苗字が変わる (one's surname changes)
- 苗字で呼ぶ (call someone by their surname)
- 珍しい苗字 (unusual surname)
In Japan, married couples must share a single 苗字 by law, which in practice almost always means the wife takes the husband's name. The question of allowing 夫婦別姓 (separate surnames for married couples) is a recurring topic of social debate.