# Minamoto (surname)

Minamoto (源, みなもと、ミナモト) is an ancient and noble Japanese family name that is mostly known for its history as a powerful clan during the Heian period.
The name itself is not common today as most of the descendant families have taken other surnames, usually from their places of residence.

## People
### Historical figures

* Minamoto no Makoto (源 信, 810 – 868), seventh son of the Japanese Emperor Saga
* Minamoto no Tōru (源 融, 822 – 895), Japanese poet and statesman, son of Emperor Saga of Japan
* Minamoto no Yoshiari (源 能有, 845 – 897), Japanese court official during the Heian period and son of Emperor Montoku of Japan
* Minamoto no Muneyuki (源 宗于, ? – 939), early Heian waka poet and Japanese nobleman, also known as Minamoto no Muneyuki Ason (源宗于朝臣)
* Minamoto no Hitoshi (源 等, 880 – 951), Japanese waka poet of the mid-Heian period
* Minamoto no Kintada (源 公忠, 889 – 948), middle Heian waka poet and Japanese nobleman, also known as Miyamoto no Kintada Ason (源公忠朝臣)
* Minamoto no Korezane (源 維城, 884 – 930), birth name of Emperor Daigo of Japan until 887
* Minamoto no Chikako (源 周子, ? – 935), court attendant (Koui) of Emperor Daigo of Japan
* Minamoto no Saneakira (源 信明, 910 – 970), middle Heian waka poet and Japanese nobleman
* Minamoto no Kanemasa (源 兼昌, dates unknown), waka poet and Japanese nobleman active in the Heian period
* Minamoto no Shitagō (源 順, 911 – 983), Japanese mid Heian waka poet, scholar and nobleman, descendant of Emperor Saga of Japan
* Minamoto no Hiromasa (源 博雅, 918 – 980), Japanese nobleman and gagaku musician in the Heian period
* Minamoto no Shigeyuki (源 重之, ? – 1000), early Heian waka poet and Japanese nobleman
* Minamoto no Takakuni (源 隆国, 1004 – 1077), Japanese noble and a scholar of ancient Japan, also known as Uji Dainagon (宇治大納言)
* Minamoto no Tsunemoto (源 経基, 894 – 961), Japanese samurai and Imperial Prince during Heian period
* Minamoto no Mitsunaka (源 満仲, 912 – 997), Japanese samurai and court official of the Heian period
* Minamoto no Yorimitsu (源 頼光, 948 – 1021), Japanese samurai served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Yorinobu
* Minamoto no Yorinobu (源 頼信, 968 – 1048), Japanese samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Tsuna (源 綱, 953 – 1025), Japanese samurai, companion of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, also known as Watanabe no Tsuna
* Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (源 頼義, 988 – 1075), Japanese samurai lord and the Chinjufu-shōgun head of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Yorimasa (源 頼政, 1106 – 1180), prominent Japanese poet whose works appeared in various anthologies
* Minamoto no Shunrai (源 俊頼, 1055 – 1129), important and innovative Japanese poet, who compiled the Gosen Wakashū
* Minamoto no Tsunenobu (源 経信, 1016 – 1097), Japanese nobleman and waka poet in the Heian period
* Minamoto no Nakatsuna (源 仲綱, 1126 – 1180), Japanese samurai in the Battle of Uji in 1180 during that part of Genpei War
* Minamoto no Kanetsuna (源 兼綱, died 1180), Japanese samurai in the Battle of Uji in 1180 during that part of Genpei War
* Minamoto no Yoshiie (源 義家, 1039 – 1106), Japanese samurai and the Chinjufu-shōgun head of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Yoshitsuna (源 義綱, 1042 – 1134), Japanese samurai of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Tameyoshi (源 為義, 1096 – 1156), Japanese samurai and head of the Minamoto clan during his lifetime
* Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (源 義光, 1045 – 1127), Japanese samurai lord during the Heian period
* Minamoto no Yoshikiyo (源 義清, 1075 – 1149), Japanese samurai warlord of the late Heian period, founder of the Takeda Clan (武田氏) of Japan
* Minamoto no Yoshikuni (源 義国, 1082 – 1155), Japanese samurai who first implored the spirit of the Iwashimizu Shrine
* Minamoto no Yoshishige (源 義重, 1135 – 1202), Japanese progenitor of the Nitta branch family of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Yoshiyasu (源 義康, 1127 – 1157), Japanese samurai, founder of the Ashikaga clan of Japan (also known as Ashikaga Yoshiyasu (足利 義康))
* Minamoto no Yoshitomo (源 義朝, 1123 – 1160), Japanese general of the late Heian period and head of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Tametomo (源 為朝, 1139 – 1170), Japanese samurai who fought in the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156
* Minamoto no Yukiie (源 行家, c. 1141~1143 – 1186), brother of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and commanders in the Genpei War
* Minamoto no Yoshinaka (源 義仲, 1154 – 1184), Japanese samurai lord in the late Heian period
* Minamoto no Yoshihira (源 義平, 1140 – 1160), Japanese samurai of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Tomonaga (源 朝長, 1144 – 1160), Japanese samurai of the Minamoto clan of the late Heian period
* Minamoto no Yoritomo (源 頼朝, 1147 – 1199), Japanese samurai, founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan
* Minamoto no Noriyori (源 範頼, 1150 – 1193), Japanese general during late Heian period of the Minamoto clan
* Minamoto no Yoshitsune (源 義経, c. 1159 – 1189), Japanese commander of the Minamoto clan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods
* Minamoto no Mochimitsu (源 以光, 1151 – 1180), son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan, also known as Prince Mochihito
* Minamoto no Mitsuyuki (源 光行, 1163 – 1244), Japanese governor in Kawachi province
* Minamoto no Ienaga (源 家長, c. 1170 – 1234), waka poet and Japanese nobleman active in the early Kamakura period
* Minamoto no Michitomo (源 通具, 1171 – 1227), waka poet and Japanese nobleman active in the early Kamakura period
* Minamoto no Sanetomo (源 実朝, 1192 – 1219), third shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan
* Minamoto no Ichiman (源 一幡, 1198 – 1203), eldest son of the 2nd Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoriie
* Minamoto no Yoshinari (源 頼暁, 1200 – 1219), second son of 2nd Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoriie, also known as the priest Kugyō (公暁)
* Minamoto no Chikako (源 親子), daughter of Kitabatake Morochika, and Imperial consort to Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan

### Modern era

* Minamoto Yoko (源 洋子, born in 1967), Japanese sport shooter
* Minamoto Sumika (源 純夏, born in 1979), Japanese freestyle swimmer

## Fictional characters

* Minamoto Kō (源 光), in Japanese manga Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
* Minamoto Kouji (源 輝二), in anime television series Digimon Frontier
* Minamoto Raikou (源 頼光), in Japanese manga Tactics
* Minamoto Tadakatsu (源 忠勝), in the visual novel Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!
* Minamoto Sakura (源 さくら), in anime television series Zombie Land Saga
* Minamoto Shizuka (源 静香), in Japanese manga and anime Doraemon

## Others

* Minamoto clan, the most powerful and most important clan of all four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi and Edo periods in Japanese history.