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

Minami, 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 Minami surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Minami in America

Minami is the 34314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Minami surname appeared 661 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 Minami.

We can also compare 2010 data for Minami 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 Minami

The surname Minami is of Japanese origin, originating from the Japanese word "minami" meaning "south." It is believed to have first emerged during the Heian period (794-1185) in Japan, when it was common for people to adopt surnames based on geographical locations or directions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Minami can be found in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), where it appears in several historical documents mentioning individuals with this surname. For example, the Azuma Kagami, a historical text chronicling the events of the Kamakura shogunate, mentions a samurai named Minami no Yoshitsune who fought in the Genpei War (1180-1185).

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the Minami surname was particularly prevalent in the southern regions of Japan, such as the Kyushu and Shikoku islands. It is likely that the name was adopted by families living in these areas, reflecting their geographic location.

In the Edo period (1603-1867), the Minami surname gained prominence with the rise of the Minami clan, a prominent samurai family that served the Tokugawa shogunate. One notable figure from this clan was Minami Masayuki (1616-1689), a renowned daimyo (feudal lord) who ruled over the Takatori Domain in present-day Nara Prefecture.

The Meiji era (1868-1912) saw the emergence of several notable individuals with the Minami surname, including Minami Kikan (1865-1942), a prominent educator and principal of the Tokyo Higher Normal School, and Minami Hiroshi (1880-1963), a Japanese diplomat and ambassador to the United States.

In more recent history, the Minami surname has been associated with several influential figures, such as Minami Jiro (1903-1982), a Japanese novelist and playwright known for his works exploring the complexities of human relationships, and Minami Hiroshi (1930-2011), a Japanese architect who designed several iconic buildings in Tokyo, including the Tokyo City Air Terminal and the New National Theatre.

Overall, the surname Minami has a rich history in Japan, spanning several centuries and encompassing individuals from various walks of life, including samurai, daimyo, educators, diplomats, writers, and architects.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Minami

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

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

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

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