Iwashita last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Iwashita

A Japanese surname possibly derived from words meaning "rock" and "field or rice-paddy".

Iwashita, 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 Iwashita surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Iwashita in America

Iwashita is the 81458th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Iwashita surname appeared 232 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 Iwashita.

We can also compare 2010 data for Iwashita 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 81458 93427 -13.69%
Count 232 182 24.15%
Proportion per 100k 0.08 0.07 13.33%

The history of the last name Iwashita

The surname Iwashita is of Japanese origin, originating in the late 15th century. It is derived from the Japanese words "iwa" meaning "rock" and "shita" meaning "under" or "below", suggesting that the name may have originated from a location or settlement situated near or beneath a rocky area.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Iwashita can be found in the Kamakura records, a collection of documents dating back to the late 12th century. These records mention an individual named Iwashita Nobuyuki, who was a samurai and retainer of the Kamakura shogunate.

In the 16th century, the name Iwashita appeared in the Taikō Kenchi records, which were land survey documents compiled during the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. These records mention several individuals with the Iwashita surname, including Iwashita Masanori, a landowner in the Owari Province (present-day Aichi Prefecture).

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the Iwashita family was prominent in the Hitachi Province (present-day Ibaraki Prefecture). One notable figure was Iwashita Genemon, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the early 18th century.

In the late 19th century, Iwashita Hisashi (1838-1911) was a political activist and journalist who advocated for democratic reforms and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Japan. He played a significant role in the Meiji Restoration and the formation of the modern Japanese government.

Another prominent individual with the Iwashita surname was Iwashita Tomio (1877-1945), a politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 1930s. He played a crucial role in negotiating the Russo-Japanese Neutrality Pact in 1941, which helped maintain peaceful relations between Japan and the Soviet Union during World War II.

While the surname Iwashita is relatively uncommon in Japan today, it has a rich historical background and has been associated with various notable figures throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Iwashita

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

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 Iwashita was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 4.31% 10
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 88.36% 205
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 6.47% 15
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Iwashita has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 4.31% 2.75% 44.19%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 88.36% 92.86% -4.97%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 6.47% 4.40% 38.09%
Hispanic (S)% 0.00% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Iwashita last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 8, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/iwashita-surname-popularity/.

"Iwashita last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/iwashita-surname-popularity/. Accessed 8 November, 2024

Iwashita last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/iwashita-surname-popularity/.

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