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

Masukawa, 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 Masukawa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Masukawa in America

Masukawa is the 151532nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Masukawa surname appeared 108 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 Masukawa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Masukawa 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 Masukawa

The surname Masukawa originates from Japan, with its earliest known records dating back to the 8th century AD. The name is derived from the ancient Japanese words "masu," meaning "increase" or "prosperity," and "kawa," meaning "river." This suggests that the name may have been associated with families or communities that lived near prosperous rivers or relied on waterways for their livelihoods.

In the Heian period (794-1185 AD), the Masukawa name was documented in official records and genealogies of noble and samurai families. One notable mention is found in the Shoku Nihongi, an imperial chronicle from the early 9th century, which refers to a Masukawa warrior who participated in a military campaign against the Emishi people in northern Japan.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), the Masukawa clan rose to prominence as influential landowners and members of the warrior class. In the late 13th century, Masukawa Masahiro (1250-1325) was a distinguished samurai who served under the powerful Hojo clan and played a crucial role in the defense of Japan against the Mongol invasions.

The Masukawa name can also be traced to several place names in Japan, such as the village of Masukawa in Fukushima Prefecture and the town of Masukawa in Yamanashi Prefecture. These locations likely derived their names from the families or clans that settled there centuries ago.

Another notable figure with the Masukawa surname was Masukawa Toshisada (1516-1573), a skilled swordsman and retainer of the famous daimyo (feudal lord) Takeda Shingen. Masukawa Toshisada played a significant role in the military campaigns of the Takeda clan during the Sengoku period (1467-1615), a turbulent era of constant warfare among powerful daimyo.

In the Edo period (1603-1868), the Masukawa family produced several accomplished scholars and artists. Masukawa Genpachi (1717-1788) was a renowned painter and calligrapher who mastered various traditional Japanese art forms, including ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Masukawa

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!