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

Hirakawa, 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 Hirakawa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hirakawa in America

Hirakawa is the 64721st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hirakawa surname appeared 307 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 Hirakawa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hirakawa 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 Hirakawa

The surname Hirakawa originated in Japan during the Heian period (794-1185 CE). It is composed of two Japanese words: "hira" meaning flat or plain, and "kawa" meaning river. This suggests the name likely referred to someone who lived near a wide or flat river.

One of the earliest known references to the Hirakawa name can be found in the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE) records of the Kamakura shogunate. There is a mention of a samurai warrior named Hirakawa Nobumoto who fought in the Genpei War between the Taira and Minamoto clans in the late 12th century.

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573 CE), the Hirakawa family established themselves as regional lords in present-day Yamagata Prefecture. They controlled lands around the town of Hirakawa, which likely took its name from the family. A notable figure was Hirakawa Masatomo (1535-1619), a daimyo who allied with the rising Tokugawa shogunate.

In the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), the Hirakawa name gained prominence through several notable scholars and artists. Hirakawa Enjun (1668-1735) was a renowned painter of the Rinpa school. Hirakawa Sukehiro (1705-1786) was a celebrated poet and calligrapher who served the Tokugawa shogunate.

Another important figure was Hirakawa Naritsugu (1775-1845), a professor of Western studies who helped translate works on astronomy, geography, and mathematics from Dutch into Japanese during the late Edo period.

In more recent centuries, Hirakawa Sukehiro (1880-1957) was a linguist and scholar of the Ainu language and culture of northern Japan. He made significant contributions to preserving Ainu traditions through his research and writings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hirakawa

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

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 Hirakawa 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 Hirakawa 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 Hirakawa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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