Find out how popular the last name Esaki is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Esaki.

Esaki, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Esaki surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Esaki in America

Esaki is the 145220th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Esaki surname appeared 114 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Esaki.

We can also compare 2010 data for Esaki to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Esaki

The surname ESAKI is of Japanese origin, tracing its roots back to the late 16th century. It initially emerged in the Satsuma region of Kyushu, where it was derived from the name of a small village near the city of Kagoshima. The word "esaki" translates to "protruding cape" in Japanese, suggesting that the ancestral home of the family may have been situated near a coastal promontory.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the ESAKI name can be found in the "Satsuma Kōki," a historical chronicle documenting the lives of prominent samurai families in the region. This text, compiled in the early 17th century, contains references to several ESAKI retainers who served under the powerful Shimazu clan.

By the mid-18th century, the ESAKI family had established itself as a respected lineage of merchants and artisans in the city of Kagoshima. Archival records from this period include the names of several ESAKI individuals who achieved recognition for their craftsmanship in pottery and lacquerware.

During the Meiji era (1868-1912), as Japan underwent rapid modernization, the ESAKI name began to spread beyond its traditional stronghold in Kyushu. One notable figure from this time was ESAKI Reiji (1860-1912), a pioneering educator who established several schools in Tokyo and advocated for the adoption of Western-style teaching methods.

In the 20th century, the most illustrious bearer of the ESAKI surname was undoubtedly Leo Esaki (1925-2012), a Japanese physicist and Nobel Laureate. Esaki's groundbreaking research on semiconductor tunneling phenomena earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973, making him the first Japanese scientist to receive this prestigious honor.

Other notable individuals with the ESAKI surname include Masahiro Esaki (1935-2018), a respected novelist and poet who won the Akutagawa Prize in 1966, and Nobuhiro Esaki (born 1958), a former professional baseball player who played for the Yomiuri Giants in the 1980s and early 1990s.

While the ESAKI name may have originated from a small village in southern Japan, its legacy has since reached far beyond its humble beginnings, with bearers of this surname making significant contributions to fields as diverse as science, literature, and sports.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Esaki

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Esaki.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Esaki was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Esaki has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Esaki was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Esaki, please contact us.

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