2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Okuyama
A Japanese surname derived from the words "oku" and "yama," meaning a remote or interior mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Okuyama. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Okuyama surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Okuyama in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Okuyama, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Okuyama
The surname Okuyama is of Japanese origin, emerging during the Nara period (710-794 AD) in the central region of Japan. It is derived from the Japanese words "oku" meaning inner or deep, and "yama" meaning mountain, indicating a person who lived in the remote or inner mountains.
One of the earliest known records of the Okuyama name can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early Japanese chronicle compiled in 797 AD, which mentions an individual named Okuyama no Sukemichi serving as a provincial governor in the late 8th century.
During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD), the Okuyama clan was a prominent samurai family based in the Shinshu region (modern-day Nagano Prefecture). They were known for their skilled archers and played a role in several military campaigns of the era.
In the 16th century, a renowned Buddhist monk named Okuyama Gengaku (1548-1618) gained prominence as a calligrapher and poet during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. His works are preserved in various temples and museums across Japan.
Another notable figure was Okuyama Kanroku (1636-1703), a Confucian scholar and advisor to the powerful Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period. He is credited with establishing the Okuyama school of Confucian thought, which had a significant influence on Japanese society at the time.
In more recent history, Okuyama Masahiko (1858-1936) was a prominent educator and writer who played a vital role in the modernization of Japan's education system during the Meiji era. He served as the president of several prestigious universities and authored numerous works on education and philosophy.
The Okuyama surname has also been associated with various notable figures in the arts, including the painter Okuyama Gihachiro (1907-1981), known for his landscape paintings depicting the beauty of the Japanese countryside, and the award-winning novelist Okuyama Hiroshi (1936-2022), whose works explored themes of identity and social issues in modern Japan.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Okuyama
Among Census respondents with the surname Okuyama, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Okuyama bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Okuyama surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander82.5% · 94
- White7.9% · 9
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Okuyama
Okuyama appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#122,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+7 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 2,670 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-27 bearers (-19.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | +7 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 2,670 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -27 bearers (-19.1%) | Down 24,181 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Okuyama surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #122,314 | #146,495 | -19.8% |
| Count | 141 | 114 | -19.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Okuyama bearers went from 141 to 114 (-19.1% change). The surname moved down 24,181 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #146,495.
FAQ
Okuyama surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Okuyama?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Okuyama. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Okuyama?
Okuyama ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Okuyama. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Okuyama.
Has Okuyama become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Okuyama went from 141 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 27 (-19.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #122,314 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Okuyama?
Among Census respondents with the surname Okuyama, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Okuyama in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.5% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Okuyama appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (82.5%), White (7.9%), Two or More Races (6.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Okuyama (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Okuyama mean?
A Japanese surname derived from the words "oku" and "yama," meaning a remote or interior mountain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Okuyama (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Okuyama?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Okuyama on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.