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

Taira, 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 Taira surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Taira in America

Taira is the 32750th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Taira surname appeared 701 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 Taira.

We can also compare 2010 data for Taira 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 Taira

The surname TAIRA has its origins in Japan, where it first emerged during the Heian period (794-1185 AD). The name is believed to have derived from the ancient Japanese word "taira," which means "flat field" or "plain." This suggests that the TAIRA surname likely originated among families residing in flat, open areas or plains.

One of the earliest and most famous references to the TAIRA name can be found in the Tale of the Heike, a Japanese epic that chronicles the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan in the late 12th century. The Taira clan, led by Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181), was a powerful samurai family that briefly held sway over the imperial court before being defeated by the Minamoto clan at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185.

The TAIRA surname has been recorded in various historical texts and records throughout Japanese history. For instance, Taira no Masakado (903-940), a prominent samurai who led a rebellion against the imperial court in the 10th century, bore this surname. Another notable figure was Taira no Shigemori (1138-1179), a general and poet who served under Taira no Kiyomori.

In addition to its historical significance, the TAIRA surname has also been associated with several place names in Japan. The town of Taira, located in Fukushima Prefecture, is believed to have been named after the Taira clan, who once held lands in the region.

While the TAIRA surname is most prevalent in Japan, it has also been adopted by individuals in other parts of the world. For example, Torazo Taira (1915-2002) was a Japanese-American artist and sculptor who contributed to the development of Northwest Coast Native American art. Yoshinori Taira (1956-2012) was a Japanese-American professional wrestler and actor who performed under the ring name "Mr. Fuji."

Other notable individuals with the TAIRA surname include Tatsuro Taira (born 1956), a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, and Shin Taira (born 1982), a Japanese professional baseball player who has played for the Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Taira

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

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

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

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