2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Makishima
A Japanese surname meaning "greenshoots" or "sprouts" in nature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Makishima. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Makishima 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Makishima in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Makishima, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and White (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Makishima
The surname Makishima is of Japanese origin, deriving from the words "maki" meaning "roll" or "coil", and "shima" meaning "island" or "stripe". It is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century, during the Edo period of Japanese history.
Makishima was likely first used as a locational surname, referring to those who lived on or near an island with a distinctive coiled or spiral shape, or an area with rolling hills or coiled terrain features. The name may also have been adopted by families involved in the production or trade of rolled goods, such as textiles or paper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Makishima surname can be found in the Edo-era "Buke Kaden" (Family Records of the Samurai Class), which documented the lineages of various samurai clans and noble families. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the regions of Kanto and Chubu, but also had a presence in other parts of Japan.
Notable individuals with the surname Makishima include Makishima Naomasa (1610-1677), a samurai and military strategist who served under the Tokugawa shogunate, and Makishima Yukiko (1825-1892), a renowned author and poet of the late Edo period.
During the Meiji era (1868-1912), Makishima Masanosuke (1838-1897) was a prominent educator and advocate for modern teaching methods, while Makishima Keiko (1867-1946) was a pioneering female physician and advocate for women's rights.
In more recent history, Makishima Shizuo (1910-1993) was a celebrated novelist and essayist, known for his works exploring the complexities of modern Japanese society.
While the Makishima surname has its roots in Japan, it has also been carried to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange, with individuals bearing this name making contributions in various fields across different countries and regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makishima
Among Census respondents with the surname Makishima, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and White (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Makishima 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 Makishima surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander81.0% · 94
- Two or more races12.1% · 14
- White6.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Makishima
Makishima 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
+8 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,763 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-12 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,822 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 1,763 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 12,822 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 Makishima 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 | #132,206 | #145,028 | -9.7% |
| Count | 128 | 116 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Makishima bearers went from 128 to 116 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 12,822 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #145,028.
FAQ
Makishima surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Makishima?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Makishima. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Makishima?
Makishima ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 116 people with the surname Makishima. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Makishima.
Has Makishima become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Makishima went from 128 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Makishima?
Among Census respondents with the surname Makishima, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and White (6.0%). 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 Makishima in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Makishima appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (81.0%), Two or More Races (12.1%), White (6.0%). 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 Makishima (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 Makishima mean?
A Japanese surname meaning "greenshoots" or "sprouts" in nature. 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 Makishima (0.04 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 Makishima?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.