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

Muraoka, 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 Muraoka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Muraoka in America

Muraoka is the 31033rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Muraoka surname appeared 748 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 Muraoka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Muraoka 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 Muraoka

The surname Muraoka is of Japanese origin, with its earliest known use dating back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Muraoka district of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. The name itself is derived from the Japanese words "mura," meaning village, and "oka," meaning hill or small mountain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Muraoka surname can be found in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) records of the Kamakura Shogunate, which ruled over feudal Japan during that time. These records mention a samurai warrior named Muraoka Tadayoshi, who served under the Minamoto clan.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the Muraoka family held significant influence in the Kumamoto region. Muraoka Masanao, born in 1701, was a prominent daimyo (feudal lord) who ruled over the Kumamoto Domain. His descendants continued to play a role in the region's governance until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

In the late 19th century, Muraoka Katsunari (1840-1910) was a notable samurai and politician from Kumamoto. He played a key role in the establishment of the modern Japanese government and served as a member of the House of Peers, the upper house of the Imperial Diet.

Another notable figure was Muraoka Iheiji (1869-1949), a renowned educator and philosopher. He was instrumental in promoting the study of Western philosophy in Japan and founded the Muraoka Gakuen educational institution in Tokyo.

In more recent history, Muraoka Tatsunari (1910-1985) was a celebrated Japanese novelist and poet. His works often explored themes of spirituality and the human condition, and he received numerous literary awards throughout his career.

While the Muraoka surname is most commonly associated with Japan, there are also records of individuals with this name in other parts of the world, likely descendants of Japanese immigrants or individuals who adopted the name for various reasons.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Muraoka

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

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

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