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

Matsushima, 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 Matsushima surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Matsushima in America

Matsushima is the 46219th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Matsushima surname appeared 461 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 Matsushima.

We can also compare 2010 data for Matsushima 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 Matsushima

The surname Matsushima is of Japanese origin. It first emerged in the late 8th century AD on the islands of Japan. The name is derived from the Japanese words 'matsu' meaning pine tree and 'shima' meaning island, thus indicating a place name referring to an island with pine trees.

One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname appears in the Engishiki, an ancient Japanese legal text compiled in 927 AD. Here, a person named Matsushima no Kiyomaro is mentioned as a lower-ranking court official. The name likely referred to his place of origin or ancestry.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), the Matsushima clan emerged as a notable samurai family based in the Matsushima region of northern Honshu. They served as vassals to the powerful Date clan. Notable members included Matsushima Masanao (1547-1615), a skilled military commander.

The picturesque island of Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture took its name from this surname. Dating back over a millennium, it contains several Shinto shrines and temples and was praised as one of the three most scenic views of Japan by the famous poet Matsuo Basho in the 17th century.

Other historical figures bearing this surname include the Buddhist monk Matsushima Kenrin (1569-1637), who helped establish the Obaku school of Zen in Japan after studying in China. The playwright and poet Matsushima Rin (1776-1859) was also a noted literary figure of the late Edo period.

Jumping to the modern era, Matsushima Hajime (1900-1986) was a renowned Japanese printmaker and artist who studied Western painting techniques. His woodblock prints depicting traditional Japanese scenes became highly sought after internationally during his lifetime.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Matsushima

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

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

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

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