Oishi

Oishi is a Japanese surname and a toponymic element. The most common kanji representation is 大石, meaning “big stone” or “large rock.” As a surname, Oishi is usually read with a long vowel, often romanized as Ōishi; in everyday use it is commonly written as Oishi. Other kanji forms exist but are less common. The name can also appear in older or regional spellings such as Ooishi in some English texts that preserve the long-vowel distinction.

The name originates from geographic or landmark features associated with ancestral residences, a common source for Japanese surnames. It is borne by many families across Japan and is also found among Japanese communities abroad due to migration and diaspora. In addition to individuals, the term may appear in place names or as part of corporate or brand names in East and Southeast Asia, where its recognizable Japanese sound is sometimes used for branding.

Oishi is phonetically similar to the Japanese adjective oishii, meaning “delicious,” but the surname is etymologically distinct from the adjective. When transliterated from Japanese, long vowels may be indicated with macrons (Ōishi) or omitted (Oishi), depending on the romanization system or typographic constraints.

Notable bearers of the name span various fields, including academia, sports, and the arts, and the surname appears in fiction and media as a representative Japanese family name.