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

Nishiyama, 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 Nishiyama surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nishiyama in America

Nishiyama is the 42579th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nishiyama surname appeared 509 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 Nishiyama.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nishiyama 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 Nishiyama

The surname Nishiyama originates from Japan and has its roots in the Japanese language. The name is composed of two Japanese words: "nishi" meaning "west" and "yama" meaning "mountain." It likely originated as a descriptive surname referring to a person living in a location situated west of a mountain or mountain range.

Nishiyama is a relatively common surname in Japan, and it can be traced back to the 8th century during the Nara period (710-794 AD). Some historical records from this era mention individuals with the Nishiyama surname, although specific details about their lives and backgrounds are scarce.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Nishiyama surname can be found in the 12th century chronicle "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East), which documented the lives of significant figures in the Kamakura shogunate (1185-1333 AD). The chronicle mentions a samurai named Nishiyama Tomoyuki, who served under the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo.

In the 16th century, during the Sengoku period (1467-1615 AD), there was a notable daimyo (feudal lord) named Nishiyama Tamesada. He controlled a region in present-day Miyagi Prefecture and played a role in the political turmoil of the time.

Another noteworthy individual with the Nishiyama surname was Nishiyama Matsunosuke (1835-1908), a prominent educator and founder of the Keio Gijuku, one of Japan's oldest and most prestigious private universities.

In the 20th century, Nishiyama Hiroshi (1919-2008) was a prominent architect who designed several notable buildings in Japan, including the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and the Kyoto International Conference Center.

While the Nishiyama surname is most commonly associated with Japan, it is also found in other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its origins can be firmly traced back to Japan and the linguistic roots of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nishiyama

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

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

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

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