Shima Family History

Japanese: written 島 ‘island’; it is also often written with characters used phonetically for example 志摩 or 志馬. The word does not necessarily denote an island surrounded by water but can also mean a field separated from its village and surrounded by someone else's property (see Shimada Nakashima etc.).

The surname is listed in the Shinsen shōjiroku. It is found mostly in the Kyōto–Ōsaka area and in the Ryūkyū Islands.

Some instances in America may be the result of shortening other names beginning with Shima- or ending with -shima.