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

Kitagawa, 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 Kitagawa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kitagawa in America

Kitagawa is the 33196th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kitagawa surname appeared 689 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 Kitagawa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kitagawa 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 Kitagawa

The surname KITAGAWA originated in Japan and dates back to the 8th century AD. It is a locational name derived from the Japanese words "kita" meaning north and "gawa" meaning river or stream. This suggests the name may have originated from a settlement located along a northern river or stream.

Early records of the KITAGAWA name can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early imperial chronicle of Japan completed in 797 AD. The name is also mentioned in the Engishiki, a legal code from the early Heian period dating back to 927 AD. These ancient texts provide some of the earliest known references to the KITAGAWA surname.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Kitagawa no Fujiwaramaro (659-720 AD), a Japanese court noble and Dainagon (major counselor) during the Nara period. Another early bearer was Kitagawa no Kawachi (804-853 AD), a renowned Buddhist monk and scholar who helped establish the Shingon sect of Buddhism in Japan.

During the Kamakura period, the KITAGAWA family gained prominence as feudal lords and samurai warriors. Kitagawa Takaie (1139-1180 AD) was a skilled archer and military commander who fought in the Genpei War. His descendant, Kitagawa Kiyoharu (1292-1358 AD), served as a trusted advisor to Emperor Go-Daigo.

In more recent history, Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806 AD) was a famous ukiyo-e artist best known for his portraits of beautiful women. Kitagawa Morisada (1888-1957 AD) was a revered sculptor who created numerous Buddhist statues and artwork for temples across Japan.

Other notable figures include Kitagawa Toranosuke (1897-1986 AD), a pioneering aerospace engineer and one of the first to study supersonic flight, and Kitagawa Toshiaki (1928-2004 AD), a celebrated rakugo storyteller and performer of traditional Japanese comic arts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kitagawa

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

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

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

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