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

Tanoue, 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 Tanoue surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tanoue in America

Tanoue is the 103181st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tanoue surname appeared 174 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 Tanoue.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tanoue 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 Tanoue

The surname "TANOUE" originates from Japan and can be traced back to the early Edo period (1603-1868). It is believed to be derived from the Japanese word "tano," which means "valley" or "hollow," and the suffix "-ue," which means "above" or "upper." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to people who lived in an elevated area or above a valley.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name TANOUE can be found in the "Shinzen Koseki," a genealogical record from the Edo period. This document lists several individuals with the surname, indicating that it was already well-established in certain regions of Japan by that time.

During the Edo period, the TANOUE name was particularly prevalent in the Kanto region, which includes present-day Tokyo and surrounding prefectures. Some notable individuals with this surname from that era include Tanoue Masanobu (1714-1789), a Confucian scholar and educator, and Tanoue Shigeyuki (1794-1856), a samurai and retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate.

As Japan entered the Meiji period (1868-1912), the TANOUE surname continued to be found in various parts of the country. One notable figure from this time was Tanoue Shinji (1866-1936), a prominent businessman and founder of the Tanoue Trading Company, which played a significant role in Japan's international trade during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the 20th century, the TANOUE name gained further recognition with individuals like Tanoue Masahiro (1910-1986), a renowned artist and calligrapher, and Tanoue Kazuo (1925-2015), a celebrated author and poet who received numerous literary awards throughout his career.

Another notable individual with the TANOUE surname is Tanoue Atsuko (born 1963), a successful manga artist and writer best known for her long-running series "Kaze Hikaru," which explores the historical events surrounding the Shinsengumi, a special police force during the late Tokugawa shogunate.

While the TANOUE name has its roots in Japan, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchange. However, its origins can be firmly traced back to the valleys and elevated regions of Japan, where the name first emerged and gained prominence over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tanoue

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

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

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

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