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

Morioka, 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 Morioka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Morioka in America

Morioka is the 50960th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Morioka surname appeared 409 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 Morioka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Morioka 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 Morioka

The surname Morioka originates from Japan, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the place name "Morioka," a city located in the Iwate Prefecture of northern Japan. The name itself is a combination of the Japanese words "mori," meaning forest, and "oka," meaning hill or highland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Morioka can be found in the "Shinchoku-ki," a historical document compiled in the late 16th century. This text mentions a samurai warrior named Morioka Hisanari, who served under the renowned daimyo (feudal lord) Date Masamune during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603).

In the Edo period (1603-1868), the Morioka clan emerged as a prominent family of hatamoto (direct retainers of the Tokugawa shogunate). One notable figure from this era was Morioka Masanari (1665-1732), a Confucian scholar and advisor to the eighth Tokugawa shogun, Yoshimune.

The name Morioka also has a strong association with the city of the same name, which served as the administrative center of the Nanbu domain during the Edo period. Nanbu Nobunao (1541-1599), the founder of the Nanbu clan, played a crucial role in the development and fortification of Morioka City.

Another historical figure bearing the Morioka surname was Morioka Norinaga (1745-1829), a prominent Kokugaku (National Learning) scholar who advocated for the study and preservation of ancient Japanese literature and traditions.

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Morioka Hisakatsu (1839-1921) gained recognition as a pioneering educator and proponent of modern teaching methods in Japan. He established the Morioka Gakuen, one of the earliest private schools in the country.

Over the centuries, the Morioka surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including samurai warriors, scholars, educators, and artists. While not an exhaustive list, these examples provide a glimpse into the rich history and significance of this Japanese surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Morioka

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

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

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

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