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

Hokama, 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 Hokama surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hokama in America

Hokama is the 56195th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hokama surname appeared 364 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 Hokama.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hokama 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 Hokama

The surname "HOKAMA" is believed to have originated in Japan. It is thought to derive from the Japanese words "ho" meaning "law" or "rule" and "kama" meaning "territory" or "region". Thus, the name may have referred to someone who governed or administered a particular area according to the laws or rules of the land.

One of the earliest known references to this surname dates back to the late 12th century, when a family bearing the name Hokama was mentioned in historical records from the Kamakura period (1185-1333) on the island of Kyushu.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), several notable individuals with the Hokama surname lived in various parts of Japan. In the late 16th century, Hokama Kodayu (1563-1639) was a samurai warrior and retainer of the powerful Shimazu clan in what is now Kagoshima Prefecture.

Another Hokama of note was Hokama Genzaburo (1712-1788), a scholar and calligrapher from the Ryukyu Kingdom, now part of Okinawa Prefecture. He is remembered for his artistic talents and his extensive travels throughout East Asia.

Moving into the 19th century, Hokama Anko (1810-1879) was a government official who served under the last Satsuma daimyo, or feudal lord, on Kyushu. He played a role in the turbulent Bakumatsu period leading up to the Meiji Restoration.

Later, in the early 20th century, Hokama Shunsho (1892-1972) was a pioneering educator from Okinawa who helped establish the first schools for children with visual impairments and other disabilities in Japan.

While originally centered in parts of southern Japan like Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands, over time the Hokama name spread to other regions as families migrated or were displaced. Today, people bearing this distinguished surname can be found across Japan as well as in Japanese communities around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hokama

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

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

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

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