2000
#15,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,718
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Hasegawa
A Japanese surname meaning "long river" or "long valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,795 Americans carry the last name Hasegawa. That puts it at #17,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 190,949 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hasegawa surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 190,949
Census rank
#17,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,565 bearers of the surname Hasegawa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hasegawa, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.7%) and White (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hasegawa
The surname Hasegawa is of Japanese origin, tracing its roots back several centuries. It was initially confined to certain regions of Japan, particularly the Kanto and Kansai areas, where it was a prominent family name.
The name Hasegawa is derived from the Japanese words "hase," meaning a long thin bamboo pole, and "gawa," which signifies a river or stream. This combination suggests that the name may have originated among families residing near bamboo groves along rivers or streams.
Historical records indicate that the Hasegawa surname can be found in various documents dating back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Some notable figures bearing this name include Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610), a renowned Japanese painter and founder of the Hasegawa school of Japanese painting.
During the Edo period (1603-1867), the Hasegawa family gained prominence as skilled artists, calligraphers, and scholars. One noteworthy individual from this era was Hasegawa Nobutsura (1568-1637), a skilled swordsman and strategist who served under the famous daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu.
In the realm of literature, Hasegawa Nyozekan (1663-1737) was a celebrated haiku poet and critic who helped shape the development of the haiku form during the Edo period.
Another notable figure was Hasegawa Toju (1770-1842), a prominent scholar and Confucian philosopher who made significant contributions to the study of Confucian thought in Japan.
Moving into the modern era, Hasegawa Hiroshi (1917-1962) was a pioneering Japanese animator and director who co-founded the renowned Studio Ghibli animation studio.
While the surname Hasegawa has undergone various spelling variations over time, such as Hasekawa or Hasekura, its essential meaning and historical significance remain deeply rooted in Japanese culture and tradition.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hasegawa
Among Census respondents with the surname Hasegawa, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.7%) and White (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hasegawa bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hasegawa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander77.2% · 1,208
- Two or more races12.7% · 199
- White6.8% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 47
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hasegawa
Hasegawa appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#17,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,559
-159 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Down 2,308 places
2020
#17,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,565
+6 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 296 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,619 | 1,718 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,927 | 1,559 | 0.53 | -159 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 2,308 places |
| 2020 | #17,631 | 1,565 | 0.52 | +6 bearers (+0.4%) | Up 296 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hasegawa surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #17,927 | #17,631 | 1.7% |
| Count | 1,559 | 1,565 | 0.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.53 | 0.52 | -1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hasegawa bearers went from 1,559 to 1,565 (+0.4% change). The surname moved up 296 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,927 to #17,631.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hasegawa
FAQ
Hasegawa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hasegawa?
Name Census estimates that about 1,795 living Americans carry the surname Hasegawa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 190,949 residents.
How common is Hasegawa?
Hasegawa ranks #17,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,565 people with the surname Hasegawa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,795), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hasegawa.
Has Hasegawa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hasegawa went from 1,559 recorded bearers to 1,565. That is an increase of 6 (+0.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,927 to #17,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Hasegawa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hasegawa, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.7%) and White (6.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hasegawa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.2% (1,208 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hasegawa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (77.2%), Two or More Races (12.7%), White (6.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hasegawa (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hasegawa mean?
A Japanese surname meaning "long river" or "long valley". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hasegawa (0.52 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Hasegawa?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Hasegawa at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.