Families that belonged to the clan used the clan name Fujiwara as their family name during the Heian period, but from the Kamakura period onward they each used their respective family names, such as Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kujo, Nijo and Ichijo, and therefore used the clan name Fujiwara only in official documents.
平安時代は、本姓の藤原を称するが、鎌倉時代以降は、姓の藤原ではなく、家名（苗字に該当）である近衛、鷹司、九条、二条、一条などを名のり、公式文書以外では藤原とは名のらない。