Although he originally bore the name of the Maita family of koke (literally, "high families"), he restored the surname Kira after the Kira family was brought to an end in the course of the well-known Genroku Ako Incident (also called the Chushingura incident).
もともと高家蒔田家を称していたが、有名な元禄赤穂事件（忠臣蔵事件）で吉良家が断絶の後に吉良姓に戻った。