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

Sugawara, 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 Sugawara surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sugawara in America

Sugawara is the 64559th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sugawara surname appeared 308 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 Sugawara.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sugawara 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 Sugawara

The surname SUGAWARA originates from Japan and has been in use since the early 8th century. It is believed to be derived from the Japanese words "suga" meaning "cedar tree" and "wara" meaning "meadow" or "field," suggesting the name may have originated from a place name describing a location with cedar trees in a meadow.

During the Nara period (710-794 CE), the SUGAWARA clan was a prominent family of scholars and statesmen. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Shoku Nihongi, an imperial chronicle from the early 9th century, which mentions Sugawara no Kiyotomo (770-842 CE), a renowned scholar and calligrapher who served as a tutor to several imperial princes.

In the 10th century, the SUGAWARA family rose to prominence with Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 CE), a renowned scholar, poet, and politician who served as a minister in the imperial court. Michizane's brilliance and integrity earned him both respect and envy, leading to his eventual exile. After his death, he was deified as the Shinto god of learning and calligraphy, and the SUGAWARA family became closely associated with education and literary pursuits.

Another notable figure from the SUGAWARA clan was Sugawara no Akitada (1008-1058 CE), a renowned waka poet and scholar who served as a tutor to several imperial princes during the Heian period (794-1185 CE). Akitada's poetic works were included in several imperial anthologies, including the Goshūi Wakashū.

In the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE), the SUGAWARA family continued to produce scholars and bureaucrats. Sugawara no Tamenaga (1158-1246 CE) was a renowned poet and calligrapher who served as a tutor to the Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo.

Over the centuries, the SUGAWARA name has been associated with various place names in Japan, such as Sugawara-cho in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Sugawara-dori in Kyoto, both named after the influential SUGAWARA clan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sugawara

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

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

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

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