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

Tanigawa, 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 Tanigawa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tanigawa in America

Tanigawa is the 57516th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tanigawa surname appeared 354 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 Tanigawa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tanigawa 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 Tanigawa

The surname Tanigawa is of Japanese origin and dates back several centuries. It is derived from the Japanese words 'tani' meaning valley and 'kawa' meaning river. The name likely originated in a region where a valley and river converged, possibly in the central or western regions of Japan.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Tanigawa name appears in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) records, referring to a samurai warrior who hailed from a village near the confluence of a valley and river. This region was likely in what is now the Gunma or Tochigi prefectures.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), several Tanigawa families are mentioned in local records and cadastral surveys as landowners and administrators in rural areas. A notable Tanigawa from this time was Tanigawa Torasaburo (1668-1736), a respected scholar and calligrapher in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate.

In the late 19th century, as Japan modernized and families adopted surnames, the name Tanigawa became more widespread. Tanigawa Masatoki (1826-1896) was a prominent educator and founder of one of Japan's earliest modern schools.

The early 20th century saw the rise of the Tanigawa business dynasty, with Tanigawa Katsutaro (1879-1957) establishing a successful trading company that later diversified into banking and real estate. His son, Tanigawa Yukihiro (1905-1987), expanded the family's business interests further.

Another notable figure was Tanigawa Masao (1920-1995), a celebrated author and poet whose works explored themes of nature and rural life. His lyrical writing style earned him numerous literary awards and accolades.

While most prevalent in Japan, the Tanigawa name has also been found among Japanese diaspora communities in countries like Brazil, Peru, and the United States, reflecting the migration patterns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tanigawa

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tanigawa, 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!