Historical-origin boundary
No single historical origin is assigned here. JMnedict attests 太田 with the reading おおた as a surname, but the sources used for this page do not establish one place or lineage shared by every Ota family.
Surname facts
The ranking figures come from the cited policyholder survey and should not be read as census totals.
- Hiragana
- おおた
- Pronunciation
- oh-tah
- Usage status
- Common
- Mora count
- 3
- 2018 sample rank
- #43 nationwide
- Survey sample share
- 0.25% (record count not published in this table)
- Survey estimate
- Not published for this rank in the survey table
- Record status
- Reviewed
- Last reviewed
- July 27, 2026
Kanji meaning
These are character-level dictionary glosses, kept separate from claims about family history.
- 太 — plump; thick; big around
- 田 — rice field; rice paddy
What the spelling can—and cannot—tell us
The character-level and orthographic glosses shown here are “plump; thick; big around” and “rice field; rice paddy”. They are not a verified whole-surname translation or proof of one family origin.
Origin and regional evidence
Observed regional pattern
The official 2018 report ranks 太田 #43 nationwide in table 2. The tables used for this record do not publish a separate regional concentration for this spelling, so this page makes no regional-origin claim.
Romanization, pronunciation, and usage notes
Romanization and variants
- Alternative romanization: Ōta
Pronunciation notes
- The reading has 3 mora: お・お・た.
- Ōta marks the long final vowel; the page URL uses the ASCII spelling Ota.
Evidence-aware context
- JMnedict contains the exact spelling-and-reading pair 太田・おおた and classifies it as a surname.
- The national rank is a result from a large insurance-policyholder sample, not a count of every resident of Japan.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ota a Japanese surname?
Yes. JMnedict classifies 太田 with the reading おおた as a Japanese surname.
How common is Ota?
It ranked #43 nationwide in Meiji Yasuda Life’s 2018 policyholder sample, with a published sample share of 0.25%. The report’s table for ranks 11–100 did not publish a per-surname record count or population estimate; the underlying dataset was not a census.
Do the kanji reveal every Ota family's exact origin?
No. Character glosses explain written elements, but do not establish one lineage, birthplace, or occupation for every bearer.
Common misunderstandings
- The literal kanji glosses do not establish a single fixed surname meaning or a documented origin for a particular family.
- A shared surname does not by itself prove that all bearers belong to one ancestral line.
Similar common surnames
Continue with related reviewed surnames from the same nationwide survey source.
Sources and evidence limits
Each source supports named fields only. Dictionary status, character glosses, survey frequency, and family history are separate questions.
- ENAMDICT/JMnedict Japanese Proper Names Dictionary
Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group · JA,EN · accessed Jul 25, 2026
Fields supported on this page
Kanji, Hiragana, Romaji, Is Real Surname
JMnedict classifies 太田 [おおた] as a surname.
Source limitation
Dictionary inclusion does not measure current frequency, guarantee a reading for every bearer, or establish legal acceptance of a new registration.
- KANJIDIC Project
Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group · JA,EN · accessed Jul 25, 2026
Fields supported on this page
Literal Meanings
KANJIDIC supplies character-level English glosses only.
Source limitation
Character glosses are not whole-name translations and do not establish an intended whole-name meaning or family etymology.
- 2018 Meiji Yasuda Life Nationwide Surname Survey
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company · JA · accessed Jul 25, 2026
Fields supported on this page
Usage Status, Ranking, Regional Association
Rank and share come from report table 2, which does not publish a per-surname count or population estimate; regional observations come from tables 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, or 10 as stated.
Source limitation
The survey covers approximately 6.558 million Meiji Yasuda individual life-insurance and annuity policyholders as of May 2018; it is a large company sample, not a census of all residents of Japan. Estimated populations extrapolate sample shares to the national population.