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

Tanabe, 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 Tanabe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tanabe in America

Tanabe is the 22319th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tanabe surname appeared 1,155 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 Tanabe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tanabe 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 Tanabe

The surname Tanabe is of Japanese origin, and it can be traced back to the 7th century CE. It is believed to have originated from the village of Tanabe, located in the present-day Wakayama Prefecture on the island of Honshu. The name itself is derived from the Japanese words "tana," meaning "shelf," and "be," meaning "inlet" or "cove," suggesting that the area where the name originated was situated near a sheltered cove.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Tanabe surname can be found in the Shoku Nihongi, an early 8th-century chronicle of Japanese history. The text mentions a nobleman named Tanabe no Sukune, who served as a provincial governor during the Nara period (710-794 CE).

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE), the Tanabe clan emerged as a prominent samurai family in the Kii Province (present-day Wakayama Prefecture). They were known for their military prowess and played a significant role in various conflicts of the time.

In the 14th century, a renowned Buddhist monk named Tanabe Shōsan (1336-1396) lived in Kyoto and contributed to the spread of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. His teachings and writings had a profound impact on the spiritual landscape of Japan.

Another notable figure from the Tanabe family was Tanabe Sakuro (1718-1790), a renowned painter and calligrapher during the Edo period (1603-1868). His works were highly acclaimed for their elegance and mastery of traditional Japanese art forms.

In the 19th century, Tanabe Ōsaku (1810-1876) was a prominent scholar and educator who played a crucial role in the modernization of Japan's educational system during the Meiji Restoration.

Throughout history, the Tanabe surname has been found in various regions of Japan, with some variations in spelling, such as Tanabe, Tanave, and Tanabi, reflecting local dialects and historical changes in the written language.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tanabe

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!