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

Tanita, 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 Tanita surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tanita in America

Tanita is the 129825th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tanita surname appeared 131 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 Tanita.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tanita 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 Tanita

The surname TANITA originates from Japan and is thought to date back to the late 15th or early 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Japanese word "tanita" which means "valley field" or "rice paddy in a valley".

The name was likely first used to refer to families or individuals who lived in or near a valley or fertile lowland area suitable for rice cultivation. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents from the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan.

One notable early bearer of the surname was Tanita Masayuki, a samurai who lived in the late 16th century and served under the powerful Tokugawa clan. Records show he was granted land in what is now Shizuoka Prefecture for his loyal service.

Another early example is Tanita Nobuyoshi, a Buddhist monk and scholar who lived in the early 17th century. He is known for his writings on Zen Buddhism and his work preserving ancient texts and manuscripts.

In the late 18th century, there was a Tanita Genpaku, a renowned physician and translator who played a key role in introducing Western medical knowledge to Japan. He was born in 1759 and died in 1841.

Moving into the 19th century, Tanita Hisashige was a prominent businessman and industrialist who helped establish Japan's first modern silk reeling factory in Tomioka in 1872. He was born in 1799 and died in 1881.

Finally, in the 20th century, Tanita Yoshio was a successful entrepreneur and inventor. He founded the Tanita Corporation in 1923, which became a leading manufacturer of precision scales and health monitoring devices. Tanita Yoshio was born in 1892 and passed away in 1962.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tanita

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

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

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

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