2000
#9,550
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Hayashi
A Japanese surname meaning "forest" or "woods," referring to someone who lived near or worked in such an area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,276 Americans carry the last name Hayashi. That puts it at #10,684 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,626 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hayashi 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
3.3K
1 in 104,626
Census rank
#10,684
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,857 bearers of the surname Hayashi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10684th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayashi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.2%) and White (7.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hayashi
The surname Hayashi originates from Japan and can be traced back to the late 7th century AD. It is derived from the Japanese words "haya" meaning "quick" or "early" and "shi" meaning a person or specialist. Thus, the name Hayashi may have originally referred to someone who was skilled at something and did it quickly or at an early stage.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Hayashi appear in the Shoku Nihongi, an early Japanese chronicle completed in 797 AD. This text mentions several individuals with the name, though it is unclear if they were relatives or from different lineages that adopted the same surname.
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), the Hayashi family emerged as a prominent samurai clan based in the Izu Province, located southwest of what is now Tokyo. Several members of this clan served as loyal retainers to the Minamoto shogunate.
One notable figure was Hayashi Nobukatsu (1512-1579), a skilled swordsman and military strategist who fought for the Imagawa clan during the Sengoku period. He is remembered for his victory at the Battle of Teraga-Dera in 1558.
In the Edo period (1603-1868), the Hayashi family produced several renowned Confucian scholars who served as advisors to the Tokugawa shogunate. Hayashi Razan (1583-1657) was a prominent philosopher who helped establish the official Neo-Confucian doctrine of the Tokugawa regime.
Another influential figure was Hayashi Dōshun (1657-1730), a scholar and astronomer who made significant contributions to the Japanese calendar system and wrote extensively on Confucian ethics and astronomy.
During the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, Hayashi Tadasu (1850-1913) was a prominent statesman who served as the first Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and played a key role in drafting the Meiji Constitution.
While the surname Hayashi originated in Japan, its use has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange. However, its roots can be firmly traced back to its Japanese origins and the influential individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hayashi
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayashi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.2%) and White (7.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hayashi 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 Hayashi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander75.7% · 2,164
- Two or more races12.2% · 348
- White7.4% · 211
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 119
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hayashi
Hayashi 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
#10,683
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,992
-131 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 1,133 places
2020
#10,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,857
-135 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,550 | 3,123 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,683 | 2,992 | 1.01 | -131 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 1,133 places |
| 2020 | #10,684 | 2,857 | 0.96 | -135 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 1 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 Hayashi 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 | #10,683 | #10,684 | -0.0% |
| Count | 2,992 | 2,857 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.96 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hayashi bearers went from 2,992 to 2,857 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,683 to #10,684.
FAQ
Hayashi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hayashi?
Name Census estimates that about 3,276 living Americans carry the surname Hayashi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,626 residents.
How common is Hayashi?
Hayashi ranks #10,684 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.96 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 2,857 people with the surname Hayashi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,276), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.96 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 Hayashi.
Has Hayashi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hayashi went from 2,992 recorded bearers to 2,857. That is a decrease of 135 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,683 to #10,684.
What does the Census say about the background of Hayashi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayashi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.2%) and White (7.4%). 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 Hayashi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (2,164 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hayashi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (75.7%), Two or More Races (12.2%), White (7.4%). 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 Hayashi (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 Hayashi mean?
A Japanese surname meaning "forest" or "woods," referring to someone who lived near or worked in such an area. 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 Hayashi (0.96 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 Hayashi?
See how many people are called Hayashi on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.