Explore the Family Name Miura

The meaning of Miura

Japanese: written 三浦 ‘three bays’, although the original meaning may have been ‘august bay’. One prominent family, descended from the Taira clan, settled in a place called Miura, in Sagami (now Kanagawa prefecture), taking the name of the place as the surname. Mostly found in northeastern Japan. History: The most famous bearer of the name is Miura Anjin, an Englishman originally known as William Adams (1564–1620). He piloted a trading ship to Japan, arriving in 1600 as warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu was completing his takeover of the entire country. Adams found favor with Ieyasu, for whom he built ships, and later became his adviser and interpreter. He took the name 按針 anjin ‘pilot’, and was awarded samurai rank and a fief in the Miura Peninsula. Not permitted to return to his family in England, he married a Japanese wife and fathered two children who have disappeared from history. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Akio, Akira, Takahiro, Tsutomu, Hajime, Hideyuki, Isamu, Kazuto, Mamoru, Shinjiro, Tsuneo, Yasuhiko.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.