SurnameNo. 21 in Japan
Saitō
Saitō (斎藤) is the 21st most common surname in Japan, shared by an estimated 0.52 million people. Its kanji mean purification + wisteria.
さ · い · と · う · さいとう
What Saitō means
斎
purification
藤
wisteria
Where the name comes from
The ending 藤 (wisteria), read tō, links Saitō to the Fujiwara clan, the court family that dominated Japan for centuries. Surnames such as Satō, Itō, Katō and Saitō are traditionally explained as branches of the Fujiwara, with the first kanji marking a place or office.
Famous people named Saitō
Saizo Saito 斎藤 才三Japanese association football player (1908–2004)
Saitō Makoto 斎藤 実Prime Minister of Japan (1858-1936)
Yosuke Saito 斎藤 陽介Japanese association football player (born 1988)
Daisuke Saito 斎藤 大輔Japanese association football player (born 1974)
Katsuyuki Saito 斎藤 克幸Japanese association football player
Saitō Hajime 斎藤 一Japanese swordsman (1844–1915)
From Wikidata: notable Japanese people with this family name.