Horii

Horii (Japanese: 堀井) is a Japanese surname. The kanji 堀井 combines 堀, meaning "moat" or "ditch," with 井, meaning "well," and is commonly interpreted as referring to a place associated with such features. As a toponymic surname, Horii originated from geographic names tied to local landscapes, and bearers of the name are found throughout Japan.

Notable people with the surname include Yuji Horii (堀井雄二), born in 1950, a prominent video game designer who co-created the Dragon Quest series and helped found the game company Chunsoft. The name is carried by others in various fields across Japanese society and in Japanese communities abroad. In addition to its use as a surname, Horii may appear in fiction and media as a family name for characters.

Overall, Horii is recognized primarily as a Japanese surname with koriginal ties to place-based geographic features, and it is most commonly associated internationally with Yuji Horii, the creator of the Dragon Quest franchise.