Hirayama last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Hirayama

A Japanese surname meaning "flat mountain" or "broad mountain field".

Hirayama, 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 Hirayama surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hirayama in America

Hirayama is the 40610th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hirayama surname appeared 538 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 Hirayama.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hirayama 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 40610 41924 -3.18%
Count 538 488 9.75%
Proportion per 100k 0.18 0.18 0.00%

The history of the last name Hirayama

The surname Hirayama is of Japanese origin, deriving from the words "hira" meaning "flat" or "plain" and "yama" meaning "mountain." It is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions of Japan, likely during the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE) or earlier.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hirayama name can be found in the Kamakura-era text "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East), which chronicles the deeds of the Kamakura shogunate. The text mentions a samurai named Hirayama Tsunetoshi, who served under the Hojo clan in the late 13th century.

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573 CE), the Hirayama name appears in several historical records, including the "Taiheiki" (The Chronicle of Grand Pacification), which recounts the struggles between the Northern and Southern Imperial Courts. One notable figure from this era was Hirayama Noriyuki, a skilled warrior who fought alongside the Ashikaga shogunate.

In the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), the Hirayama clan held significant influence in the Tosa Domain (present-day Kochi Prefecture). One prominent member was Hirayama Tomoyuki (1730-1809), a renowned scholar and poet who served as the domain's chief retainer.

Another notable figure was Hirayama Yurinao (1789-1843), a distinguished mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of calculus and celestial mechanics in Japan.

During the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912 CE), Hirayama Yoshio (1838-1891) was a prominent statesman and diplomat who played a crucial role in the modernization of Japan and the establishment of diplomatic relations with Western nations.

In more recent history, Hirayama Kazutaka (1912-2002) was a celebrated Japanese architect known for his distinctive modernist designs, including the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan concert hall and the Kyoto International Conference Center.

Overall, the Hirayama surname has a rich history spanning several centuries, with notable individuals contributing to various fields such as warfare, literature, science, politics, and architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hirayama

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

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 Hirayama was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 6.32% 34
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 77.32% 416
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 13.01% 70
Hispanic Origin 3.16% 17

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 Hirayama has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 6.32% 4.30% 38.04%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 77.32% 87.09% -11.88%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 13.01% 6.97% 60.46%
Hispanic 3.16% 1.43% 75.38%

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

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

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"Hirayama last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 21, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hirayama-surname-popularity/.

"Hirayama last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hirayama-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 November, 2024

Hirayama last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hirayama-surname-popularity/.

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