名字
みょうじ · myouji · JLPT N2 · noun
surname
🏷️ 名字 = 名 (name) + 字 (character): a family name is a name written in characters
Read myouji for the surname sense; the same characters read namae mean 'name' in general. 苗字 is an alternative written form with the same reading.
名 — evening 夕 + mouth 口
A compound ideograph: in the dark of evening (夕), one cannot recognize others by sight, so the mouth (口) calls out a name to identify oneself. The original sense of 'name' broadened to include reputation, fame, and a measure word for people.
字 — roof 宀 + child 子
Originally depicted a child 子 under a roof 宀, suggesting birth or rearing a child in the home. The meaning later extended to 'to give birth, nurture' and then to 'written character', since characters were seen as offspring derived from earlier pictographs.