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

Nishijima, 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 Nishijima surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nishijima in America

Nishijima is the 97210th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nishijima surname appeared 187 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 Nishijima.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nishijima 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 Nishijima

The surname Nishijima originates from Japan and dates back to the early 8th century. It is derived from two Japanese words: "nishi" meaning west and "jima" meaning island or peninsula. This suggests that the name likely originated from families residing on western islands or peninsulas of the Japanese archipelago.

In the historical Shoku Nihongi chronicles, compiled in 797, there are references to a clan leader named Nishijima no Sukeyori who participated in political affairs during the Nara period (710-784). This is one of the earliest recorded examples of the surname.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the name Nishijima appeared in several legal documents and land registers from the region of Kyushu, indicating the presence of influential Nishijima families in that area.

One notable figure was Nishijima Sadamune (1281-1348), a skilled swordsmith renowned for crafting exceptional katana blades during the Muromachi period. His works were highly prized by samurai warriors of the time.

In the late 16th century, the Nishijima clan played a role in the Sengoku period as loyal retainers to the powerful Mori clan. Nishijima Mitsunari (1564-1615) was a respected samurai who fought bravely at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the Nishijima family maintained a prominent presence in the Satsuma Domain (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture). Nishijima Narishige (1725-1801) was a respected scholar and advisor to the Satsuma daimyo.

In more recent history, Nishijima Sadao (1857-1925) was a pioneering educator who founded several prestigious schools in Tokyo and played a significant role in modernizing Japan's education system during the Meiji era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nishijima

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

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

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

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