Kanto (government service) of the family head was Uma no kami (Captain of the Right Division of Bureau of Horses) or Umanosuke (deputy minister of the institution for the horse care), therefore, the family started to be called Tenkyu family from a Tang name of the Kanto.
当主が右馬頭もしくは右馬助を官途としたことから、その唐名にちなんで典厩家と呼ばれるようになっていた。