Surname 岩波 (Yanbo 
, 岩波 , Iwanami 
) , across the world, is quite a rare cognomen. The cognomen 岩波 is habitual in South-eastern Asia, particularly Singapore, where it is a rare surname, Myanmar, and Malaysia. Measured by absolute frequency, it is commonest in China, Indonesia, and Japan. More frequently, 岩波 is the forename as well as the last name.
| VARIANT | COUNTRY |
|---|---|
| Yanbo | China, Taiwan, United States, India, Myanmar |
| 岩波 | China |
| Iwanami | Japan, Indonesia, Chile, United States, Brazil |
|
岩波 茂雄 Businessman, Publisher, JP (b. 1881) |
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| 岩波三郎 Japanese politician (1922-2013), JP (b. 1922) |
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| 岩波律子 Japanese cinéaste, JP (b. 1950) |
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| 岩波明 Japanese psychiatrist, JP (b. 1959) |
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