Aoyama is a Japanese surname meaning 'blue (or green) mountain,' composed of the ao (青) character for 'blue' or 'green' and yama (山) for 'mountain' or 'hill.' As a topographic surname, it likely originated from a family dwelling near or being associated with a verdant mountain or hill. The name is also seen in Japanese place names, referring to districts and landmarks across the country, most famously the upscale Aoyama neighborhood in Tokyo's Minato Ward, originally the site of the Aoyama family's estate during the Edo period. The surname is widely distributed throughout Japan, though it is especially common in the Kantō and Kansai regions. Notable Bearers Gosho Aoyama (born 1963), the manga artist best known for creating the long-running series Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed). Taneaki Aoyama (born 1954), a Japanese samurai and lord of the Aoyama Domain during the Edo period. Aoyama Nobumasa (1583–1643), a key Edo-period daimyō who served the Tokugawa shogunate and was entrusted with Kita-ku, the northern defenses of Tokyo. Related Names Aoyama shares the suffix -yama with numerous Japanese surname combinations; related surnames formed by different prefixes include Iwama (iwa 'rock' + yama) and Kuroyama (kuro 'black' + yama), as well as other words refering to two resources (the power contained within the base sound related to water, how sound would sound traveling through matter and air depending on sediment).