Ishimine
A Japanese surname referring to a rock mine or quarry.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 103 Americans carry the last name Ishimine. That puts it at #159,712 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,327,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ishimine surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Ishimine appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
103
1 in 3,327,712
Census rank
#159,712
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Ishimine in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 159712th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ishimine, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ishimine
The surname Ishimine originated in the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. It traces its roots back to the Ryukyu Kingdom, which ruled Okinawa and nearby islands from the 15th to the 19th century. The name is derived from the Japanese words "ishi" meaning stone and "mine" meaning peak or summit, likely referring to a geographic feature in the area where the family was originally from.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ishimine can be found in the Omoro Soshi, a collection of ancient Ryukyuan poetry and songs compiled in the early 17th century. This suggests the Ishimine family had already established itself as a prominent clan in Okinawa by that time.
During the Ryukyu Kingdom era, the Ishimine clan was known for producing skilled warriors and advisors to the royal court. One notable figure was Ishimine Hisamatsu (1568-1624), a renowned military strategist who helped defend the kingdom against invading forces from neighboring Japan.
After the Ryukyu Kingdom was abolished in 1879, the Ishimine name continued to be carried on by families across Okinawa and other parts of Japan. In the late 19th century, Ishimine Kanesuke (1863-1938) became one of the first Okinawan immigrants to settle in Hawaii, working as a contract laborer on sugar plantations.
Another prominent individual with the Ishimine surname was Ishimine Masao (1905-1990), a celebrated writer and poet who helped preserve and promote Okinawan literature and culture during the 20th century. His works often reflected the unique history and identity of the Okinawan people.
In more recent times, Ishimine Sanjiro (1933-2019) gained recognition as a master of Okinawan traditional music and dance. He dedicated his life to passing on these art forms to younger generations, ensuring the cultural legacy of the Ishimine name lived on.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ishimine
Among Census respondents with the surname Ishimine, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ishimine bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ishimine surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander71.3%
- Two or more races16.8%
- Hispanic or Latino6.9%
- White5.0%
FAQ
Ishimine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ishimine?
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the surname Ishimine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,327,712 residents.
How common is Ishimine?
Ishimine ranks #159,712 in the 2010 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2010 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Ishimine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Ishimine.
Has Ishimine become more or less common over time?
Ishimine appears here with 2010 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Ishimine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ishimine, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 71.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). These figures come from the 2010 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ishimine in the 2010 Census, accounting for 71.3%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ishimine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (71.3%), Two or More Races (16.8%), Hispanic (6.9%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Ishimine appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ishimine mean?
A Japanese surname referring to a rock mine or quarry. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2010 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ishimine (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Ishimine?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.