2000
#100,194
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 167
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Tanoue
A topographic surname of Japanese origin indicating a rice paddy field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 225 Americans carry the last name Tanoue. That puts it at #98,894 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,523,353 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tanoue surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
225
1 in 1,523,353
Census rank
#98,894
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
196
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 196 bearers of the surname Tanoue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 98894th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tanoue, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.8%) and White (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tanoue
Among Census respondents with the surname Tanoue, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.8%) and White (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Tanoue bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Tanoue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander76.0% · 149
- Two or more races12.8% · 25
- White6.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tanoue
Tanoue appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#103,181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 174
+7 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 2,987 places
2020
#98,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 196
+22 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 4,287 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #100,194 | 167 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #103,181 | 174 | 0.06 | +7 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 2,987 places |
| 2020 | #98,894 | 196 | 0.07 | +22 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 4,287 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Tanoue surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #103,181 | #98,894 | 4.2% |
| Count | 174 | 196 | 12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.07 | 9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tanoue bearers went from 174 to 196 (+12.6% change). The surname moved up 4,287 positions in the national ranking, going from #103,181 to #98,894.
FAQ
Tanoue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tanoue?
Name Census estimates that about 225 living Americans carry the surname Tanoue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,523,353 residents.
How common is Tanoue?
Tanoue ranks #98,894 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 196 people with the surname Tanoue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (225), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tanoue.
Has Tanoue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tanoue went from 174 recorded bearers to 196. That is an increase of 22 (+12.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #103,181 to #98,894.
What does the Census say about the background of Tanoue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tanoue, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.8%) and White (6.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tanoue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tanoue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (76.0%), Two or More Races (12.8%), White (6.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Tanoue (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Tanoue mean?
A topographic surname of Japanese origin indicating a rice paddy field. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Tanoue (0.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Tanoue?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.