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

Sato, 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 Sato surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sato in America

Sato is the 4956th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sato surname appeared 7,095 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Sato.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sato 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 Sato

The surname SATO has its origins in Japan, dating back several centuries. It is believed to have emerged during the Heian period (794-1185) or the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and was likely derived from the Japanese word "sato," which refers to a village or a rural area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the SATO surname can be found in the Kamakura Ibun, a collection of historical documents from the Kamakura period. This collection mentions several individuals with the SATO surname, indicating that the name was well-established by that time.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the SATO surname became more widespread and was particularly prevalent in the Kanto and Tohoku regions of Japan. It was often associated with farming communities and rural areas, reflecting its origins.

Notable individuals with the SATO surname throughout history include Sato Nobuhiro (1769-1850), a prominent Japanese scholar and poet during the Edo period. Another notable figure was Sato Naotake (1590-1659), a samurai and daimyo (feudal lord) who served under the Tokugawa shogunate.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several SATO individuals made significant contributions to Japanese culture and society. For example, Sato Haruo (1892-1964) was a renowned artist and printmaker known for his ukiyo-e woodblock prints, while Sato Eisaku (1901-1975) was a prominent politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972.

Other notable figures include Sato Naoki (1882-1950), a pioneering Japanese physicist and chemist best known for his work on X-ray crystallography, and Sato Koji (1944-1981), a Japanese mountaineer and author who was the first Japanese person to summit Mount Everest in 1975.

The SATO surname has also been associated with various place names in Japan, such as Sato-shima (an island in Kagoshima Prefecture), Sato-no-shima (an island in Niigata Prefecture), and Sato-no-kuni (an old province in present-day Shiga Prefecture).

While the SATO surname has its roots in rural Japan, it has since become widespread throughout the country and has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, reflecting the diverse and rich history of Japan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sato

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

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

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

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