Kato Family History

Japanese (Katō): written 加藤 ‘increasing wisteria’. Most bearers descend from the Fujiwara of Kaga (now part of Ishikawa prefecture). Mostly found along the southeastern seaboard and in the Ryūkyū Islands.

One family was daimyō (feudal lords) of Hizen (now Nagasaki prefecture). Another version 河東 means ‘east of the river’. The name is sometimes Romanized as Katoh.

Japanese: alternate pronunciation of Kado. Hungarian (Kató): from a pet form of the female personal name Katalin (see Catherine).