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

Hironaka, 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 Hironaka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hironaka in America

Hironaka is the 52619th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hironaka surname appeared 394 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 Hironaka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hironaka 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 Hironaka

The surname HIRONAKA originates from Japan. It is a combination of two Japanese words: 'hiro' meaning 'prosperous' or 'abundant', and 'naka' meaning 'middle' or 'center'. Together, the name can be interpreted as 'prosperous center' or 'abundant middle'.

HIRONAKA is a relatively common surname in Japan, particularly in the regions of Kansai and Chugoku. It is believed to have originated during the Muromachi period (1336-1573) when many families adopted surnames based on their place of residence or occupation.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the HIRONAKA surname can be found in the Tamonin-niki, a diary written by a Buddhist monk in the late 16th century. The diary mentions a samurai named HIRONAKA Masanori who served under the famous warlord Oda Nobunaga.

Another notable bearer of the HIRONAKA name was HIRONAKA Heisuke (1801-1857), a Japanese scholar and poet who was well-known for his contributions to the study of classical Japanese literature. He was born in Edo (present-day Tokyo) and served as a scholar in the service of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

In the field of mathematics, HIRONAKA Heisuke (1931-2011) was a renowned Japanese mathematician who received the Fields Medal in 1970 for his work in algebraic geometry. He was born in Awa Province (now part of Tokushima Prefecture) and spent most of his academic career at Harvard University and Kyoto University.

Another prominent figure with the HIRONAKA surname was HIRONAKA Bunzō (1904-1977), a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Education and Science during the 1960s. He was instrumental in implementing educational reforms and promoting scientific research in Japan.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), there were several villages and towns in Japan that bore the name HIRONAKA, indicating that the surname may have originated from these place names. These include HIRONAKA-mura in Shinano Province (now part of Nagano Prefecture) and HIRONAKA-juku, a post town along the Nakasendō highway.

While the HIRONAKA surname has a long history in Japan, it is important to note that this overview focuses on the surname itself and does not include information on its use as a first or given name. Additionally, recent census data from modern times has been omitted to maintain the historical nature of this report.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hironaka

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

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

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

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