2000
#82,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 212
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Kurosawa
A surname derived from Japanese words meaning "black" and "marsh/swamp".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 200 Americans carry the last name Kurosawa. That puts it at #108,494 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,713,772 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kurosawa 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.
Bearers in the US
200
1 in 1,713,772
Census rank
#108,494
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
174
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 174 bearers of the surname Kurosawa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 108494th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurosawa, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kurosawa
The surname Kurosawa originates from Japan, where it first appeared around the 15th century. It is derived from the Japanese words "kuro" meaning black and "sawa" meaning swamp or marsh, suggesting the name may have originally referred to someone living near a dark or black swamp.
Kurosawa is a relatively common surname in Japan, especially in the Kanto region around Tokyo. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in feudal-era family registries and local records from various domains.
One notable historical reference to the Kurosawa name comes from the 16th century when a samurai warrior named Kurosawa Kiyonori served under the renowned daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Sengoku period of civil wars.
The most famous bearer of the Kurosawa surname is undoubtedly Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), the legendary Japanese filmmaker renowned for masterpieces such as "Seven Samurai," "Rashomon," and "Ran." Kurosawa is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in cinema history.
Another prominent figure was Toshio Kurosawa (1926-2019), a Japanese businessman who served as the chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation from 1976 to 1994, overseeing the company's rise to global prominence in the consumer electronics industry.
In the world of sports, Hiroki Kurosawa (born 1979) is a professional baseball player who has played for the Yomiuri Giants and Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball.
The Kurosawa name can also be traced back to historical place names, such as the village of Kurosawa-mura in present-day Gunma Prefecture, which may have been the original location associated with the surname.
Another individual of note is Norio Kurosawa (1936-2002), a pioneering Japanese architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Tokyo International Forum and the Kyoto International Conference Center.
While the Kurosawa surname is mainly concentrated in Japan, it has also been carried by individuals of Japanese descent living abroad, reflecting the global reach and influence of this historic name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kurosawa
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurosawa, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kurosawa bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 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 Kurosawa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.8% · 151
- Two or more races5.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 7
- White1.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
- Black or African American0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kurosawa
Kurosawa appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#90,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 205
-7 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 7,422 places
2020
#108,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 174
-31 bearers (-15.1%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 18,381 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #82,691 | 212 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #90,113 | 205 | 0.07 | -7 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 7,422 places |
| 2020 | #108,494 | 174 | 0.06 | -31 bearers (-15.1%) | Down 18,381 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kurosawa surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #90,113 | #108,494 | -20.4% |
| Count | 205 | 174 | -15.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.06 | -16.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kurosawa bearers went from 205 to 174 (-15.1% change). The surname moved down 18,381 positions in the national ranking, going from #90,113 to #108,494.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kurosawa
FAQ
Kurosawa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kurosawa?
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the surname Kurosawa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,713,772 residents.
How common is Kurosawa?
Kurosawa ranks #108,494 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 2020 Census file counted 174 people with the surname Kurosawa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (200), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Kurosawa.
Has Kurosawa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kurosawa went from 205 recorded bearers to 174. That is a decrease of 31 (-15.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #90,113 to #108,494.
What does the Census say about the background of Kurosawa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurosawa, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 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 Kurosawa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (151 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kurosawa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (86.8%), Two or More Races (5.7%), Hispanic (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kurosawa (2000, 2010, 2020).
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 Kurosawa mean?
A surname derived from Japanese words meaning "black" and "marsh/swamp". 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 2020 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 Kurosawa (0.06 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 common is the surname Kurosawa?
Want to know how many people have the surname Kurosawa? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.