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

Takaoka, 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 Takaoka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Takaoka in America

Takaoka is the 96799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Takaoka surname appeared 188 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 Takaoka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Takaoka 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 Takaoka

The surname Takaoka is of Japanese origin, tracing its roots back to the 8th century or earlier. It is a locational name, derived from the place name Takaoka, which means "tall hill" or "high hill" in Japanese. The name likely originated in one of the regions where the name Takaoka is found as a place name, such as Toyama Prefecture or Fukushima Prefecture.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Takaoka surname can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early Japanese chronicle completed in 797 AD. This text mentions an individual named Takaoka no Hiromaro, who was a high-ranking court official during the Nara period (710-794 AD).

In the 12th century, the Takaoka surname appears in the Azuma Kagami, a historical record of the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD). This text references a samurai named Takaoka Kageyasu, who served under the Minamoto clan during the Genpei War (1180-1185 AD).

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573 AD), the Takaoka family established themselves as a prominent clan in the Toyama region. They controlled various territories and played an important role in local politics and military affairs.

One notable figure from this era was Takaoka Nobumitsu (1494-1561), a skilled warrior who fought alongside Uesugi Kenshin, a powerful daimyo (feudal lord) of the Sengoku period (1467-1615 AD).

In the Edo period (1603-1868 AD), the Takaoka surname gained further prominence with the rise of Takaoka Enshin (1804-1872), a renowned Buddhist priest and calligrapher. He was the abbot of the Myoshin-ji temple in Kyoto and was highly respected for his artistic and spiritual contributions.

Another significant individual was Takaoka Masao (1838-1919), a politician and diplomat who served as the Japanese ambassador to Italy and Mexico in the late 19th century.

During the Meiji era (1868-1912 AD), Takaoka Hiroyuki (1854-1919) made his mark as a prominent educator and author. He founded several schools and authored numerous textbooks, contributing to the modernization of Japan's education system.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Takaoka

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

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

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

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