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

Inoue, 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 Inoue surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Inoue in America

Inoue is the 19425th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Inoue surname appeared 1,391 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 Inoue.

We can also compare 2010 data for Inoue 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 Inoue

The surname Inoue is of Japanese origin, originating in the late 7th century. It is derived from the Japanese words "inu" meaning "dog" and "e" meaning "home" or "residence". The name likely referred to someone who lived in a place where dogs were kept or bred.

The earliest recorded mention of the Inoue name can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early Japanese historical text completed in 797 AD. The name appears in reference to an official named Inoue no Omi who served during the Nara period.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the Inoue clan was a prominent samurai family based in the Musashi province (now part of Tokyo). They were retainers of the powerful Hojo clan and played a role in the struggles between the imperial court and the shogunate.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the Inoue surname was Inoue Masashige (1585-1661), a daimyo (feudal lord) who ruled the Aizu domain (now part of Fukushima Prefecture). He was a skilled administrator and military strategist who supported the Tokugawa shogunate.

In the Edo period (1603-1868), the Inoue clan continued to hold significant influence as daimyo and hatamoto (direct vassals of the shogun). Inoue Masami (1815-1885) was a prominent samurai and official who played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, the transition from the Tokugawa shogunate to the modern imperial state.

Another notable figure was Inoue Kowashi (1843-1895), a pioneering educator and founder of one of Japan's earliest institutions of higher learning, which later became the University of Tokyo. He was a key figure in modernizing Japan's education system during the Meiji era.

In the field of literature, Inoue Yasushi (1907-1991) was a celebrated novelist and essayist. He is best known for his novel "Musashi", a fictionalized account of the life of the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.

The Inoue surname can also be found in various place names throughout Japan, such as Inoue-cho in Niigata Prefecture and Inoue-mura in Yamaguchi Prefecture, reflecting the historical presence of the Inoue clan in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Inoue

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

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

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

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