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

Moriyama, 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 Moriyama surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moriyama in America

Moriyama is the 57914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moriyama surname appeared 351 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 Moriyama.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moriyama 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 Moriyama

The surname Moriyama originates from Japan and traces its roots back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Japanese words "mori" meaning forest and "yama" meaning mountain, suggesting that the name may have originated in a forested mountainous region of the country.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Moriyama name can be found in the Azuma Kagami, a historical chronicle from the Kamakura period (1185-1333). The text mentions a samurai warrior named Moriyama Nobunao who served under the Minamoto clan during the Genpei War.

In the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the Moriyama clan emerged as a prominent samurai family in the Kanto region. They were vassals of the powerful Hojo clan and played a significant role in local politics and military affairs.

During the Sengoku period (1467-1615), a notable figure named Moriyama Samanosuke served as a retainer to the famous warlord Oda Nobunaga. He participated in several battles and is mentioned in historical records from that time.

In the Edo period (1603-1868), the Moriyama family produced several scholars and artists. One of them, Moriyama Baiken (1723-1789), was a renowned painter and calligrapher who served as an official artist for the Tokugawa shogunate.

Another notable individual with the Moriyama surname was Moriyama Shigenobu (1811-1890), a samurai and educator who played a pivotal role in the modernization of Japan's education system during the Meiji Restoration.

Other significant figures with the Moriyama name include Moriyama Matsunosuke (1870-1933), a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Moriyama Scholarship Foundation, and Moriyama Masaru (1901-1985), a prominent architect known for his work on several government buildings and cultural centers.

Throughout its history, the Moriyama name has been associated with various professions, including warriors, artists, scholars, and businessmen, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who have carried this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moriyama

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Moriyama, 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!