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

Nishihara, 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 Nishihara surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nishihara in America

Nishihara is the 60960th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nishihara surname appeared 330 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 Nishihara.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nishihara 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 Nishihara

The surname Nishihara originates from Japan and can be traced back to the 8th century. It is believed to have derived from the Japanese words "nishi" meaning west and "hara" meaning field or plain, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived in a western field or plain area.

Nishihara is a locational surname, indicating that it likely originated from a specific place or region in Japan. However, there are no definitive historical records that pinpoint the exact location or area where the name first emerged.

One of the earliest known mentions of the Nishihara surname can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early Japanese chronicle dating back to the late 8th century. The text references an individual named Nishihara no Sukemaro, who served as a court official during the Nara period (710-794).

Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the Nishihara surname. Nishihara Kakubun (1539-1618) was a prominent Buddhist monk and calligrapher during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Nishihara Masaki (1640-1723) was a renowned scholar and poet of the Edo period, known for his contributions to the study of Japanese literature and poetry.

In more recent history, Nishihara Sakuzo (1893-1969) was a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives and played a role in the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party in the post-World War II era.

Another notable figure was Nishihara Kazuhiko (1920-2002), a distinguished architect who designed several iconic buildings in Japan, including the Nagoya Civic Theater and the Matsushima Sculpture Museum.

Nishihara Kiyohiro (1951-present) is a contemporary Japanese martial artist and the founder of the Nishihara-ryu karate style, which has gained international recognition and practitioners worldwide.

It is worth noting that while the Nishihara surname has a rich history in Japan, there may have been variations or alternative spellings of the name over time, particularly in different regions or dialects of the Japanese language.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nishihara

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

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

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

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