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

Honma, 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 Honma surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Honma in America

Honma is the 76029th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Honma surname appeared 253 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 Honma.

We can also compare 2010 data for Honma 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 Honma

The surname HONMA originates from Japan and can be traced back to the 8th century. It is derived from the Japanese word "hon," meaning "main" or "principal," and "ma," meaning "town" or "village." This combination suggests that the name likely referred to a person who came from a prominent or central town or village.

In ancient Japanese records, the name is sometimes written with different kanji characters, such as 本間 or 本馬, but the pronunciation remains the same. These variations in writing reflect the evolution of the Japanese language and the adoption of different characters over time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the HONMA name appears in the Shoku Nihongi, an imperial chronicle from the 8th century. The text mentions a government official named HONMA no Sukune, who served during the reign of Emperor Shomu (701-756).

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the HONMA name was associated with several samurai clans in the Kanto region. Some notable figures from this era include HONMA Tokimune (1204-1279), a military commander who fought in the Mongol invasions of Japan, and HONMA Yoshihiro (1269-1348), a renowned warrior and poet.

In the Edo period (1603-1868), the HONMA family produced several influential scholars and artists. HONMA Kodoku (1758-1828) was a renowned calligrapher and painter, while HONMA Koshiro (1724-1803) was a respected scholar of Confucian philosophy.

In the late 19th century, HONMA Muneyuki (1828-1888) was a prominent politician and diplomat who played a key role in the modernization of Japan during the Meiji Restoration.

Another notable figure is HONMA Masayuki (1905-1988), a professional golfer who helped popularize the sport in Japan and is credited with designing several renowned golf courses.

Throughout its history, the HONMA name has been associated with various locations in Japan, particularly in the Kanto and Tohoku regions. Some examples include Honma-mura (本間村) in Gunma Prefecture and Honma-jiri (本間尻) in Akita Prefecture, both of which likely derived their names from the HONMA surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Honma

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

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

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

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