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

Nishizawa, 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 Nishizawa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nishizawa in America

Nishizawa is the 100302nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nishizawa surname appeared 180 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 Nishizawa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nishizawa 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 Nishizawa

The surname Nishizawa originates from Japan and is believed to date back to the early Heian period (794-1185 AD). It is a locational name, derived from the Japanese words "nishi" meaning west and "zawa" meaning marsh or swamp. This suggests that the name likely originated from a family or clan that settled in an area located west of a marshy region.

One of the earliest known references to the Nishizawa name can be found in the Azuma Kagami, a historical chronicle from the late Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD). This text mentions a samurai warrior named Nishizawa no Yoshitsune, who fought alongside the famous shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo during the Genpei War (1180-1185 AD).

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573 AD), the Nishizawa clan was prominent in the Kanto region, particularly in the area now known as Saitama Prefecture. Records from this era mention a Nishizawa Mochitoki, who served as a high-ranking retainer to the powerful Uesugi clan.

In the Edo period (1603-1868 AD), the Nishizawa family produced several notable figures, including Nishizawa Masatsuna (1640-1711), a renowned scholar and calligrapher who served as a tutor to the shogunate. Another noteworthy individual was Nishizawa Ienari (1687-1737), a skilled swordsmith who crafted blades for the Tokugawa shogunate.

The Meiji era (1868-1912 AD) saw the rise of Nishizawa Zenjiro (1845-1921), a prominent educator and founder of the Nishizawa Academy, one of Japan's earliest modern schools. Additionally, Nishizawa Yasuhiko (1870-1944) was a respected artist and painter who specialized in traditional Japanese styles.

Throughout its history, the Nishizawa name has also been associated with various place names, such as Nishizawa-mura (Nishizawa Village) in Shizuoka Prefecture and Nishizawa-cho (Nishizawa Town) in Gunma Prefecture, further reinforcing its locational origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nishizawa

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

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

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

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