2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Miyasaka
A locational surname derived from a place name in Japan.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Miyasaka. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Miyasaka 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Miyasaka in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Miyasaka, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Miyasaka
The surname Miyasaka originates from Japan and can be traced back to the late 8th century. It is believed to be derived from the Japanese words "miya," meaning "shrine," and "saka," meaning "hill" or "slope." The name likely referred to a person who lived near a shrine on a hill or slope.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Miyasaka name can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early Japanese historical text completed in 797 AD. This text mentions a person named Miyasaka no Takamochi, who served as a government official during the Nara period (710-794 AD).
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), the Miyasaka family was known to have held significant landholdings and influence in the Ise Province (present-day Mie Prefecture). Records from this time period mention Miyasaka Masanori, a prominent samurai and landowner who lived in the late 12th century.
In the Muromachi period (1336-1573 AD), a branch of the Miyasaka family relocated to the Aizu region (present-day Fukushima Prefecture). One notable figure from this era was Miyasaka Masatsune, a skilled swordsman and martial artist who lived in the 16th century.
The Edo period (1603-1868 AD) saw the rise of several prominent Miyasaka individuals, including Miyasaka Yasunobu (1618-1682), a respected scholar and poet who served as a retainer to the Tokugawa shogunate.
Another notable Miyasaka was Miyasaka Kanpei (1740-1820), a successful merchant and philanthropist who founded several schools and hospitals in his hometown of Osaka.
As Japanese society modernized during the Meiji era (1868-1912), the Miyasaka name continued to be represented in various fields. One example is Miyasaka Tsunekazu (1854-1920), a pioneer in the field of engineering and the first Japanese to receive a doctoral degree from a European university.
Throughout its long history, the Miyasaka surname has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including warriors, scholars, merchants, and professionals, reflecting the diverse and rich cultural heritage of Japan.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miyasaka
Among Census respondents with the surname Miyasaka, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Miyasaka 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 Miyasaka surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.7% · 96
- Two or more races7.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Miyasaka
Miyasaka appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,244 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 2,244 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 Miyasaka 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 | #149,395 | #151,639 | -1.5% |
| Count | 110 | 107 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Miyasaka bearers went from 110 to 107 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 2,244 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #151,639.
FAQ
Miyasaka surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Miyasaka?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Miyasaka. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Miyasaka?
Miyasaka ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Miyasaka. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Miyasaka.
Has Miyasaka become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Miyasaka went from 110 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Miyasaka?
Among Census respondents with the surname Miyasaka, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Miyasaka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Miyasaka appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (89.7%), Two or More Races (7.5%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Miyasaka (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 Miyasaka mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name in Japan. 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 Miyasaka (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 have the surname Miyasaka?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.