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

Teranishi, 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 Teranishi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Teranishi in America

Teranishi is the 127494th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Teranishi surname appeared 134 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 Teranishi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Teranishi 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 Teranishi

The surname Teranishi originated in Japan and can be traced back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573). It is derived from the Japanese words "tera" meaning temple, and "nishi" meaning west, suggesting that the name may have originated from a location or family associated with a temple situated in the western part of a particular region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Teranishi can be found in the Azuma Kagami, a historical chronicle from the Kamakura period (1185-1333), which mentions a samurai warrior named Teranishi Hidesada who served under the Hojo clan.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the Teranishi family gained prominence as landowners and administrators in the Kanto region. Teranishi Masataka (1627-1703) was a prominent daimyo (feudal lord) who served as the lord of the Iwatsuki Domain in present-day Saitama Prefecture.

In the late 19th century, Teranishi Koshiro (1848-1925) was a notable educator and author who contributed to the modernization of Japan's education system. He founded the Teranishi Gakuen, a private school in Tokyo, and authored several textbooks on Japanese language and literature.

Another notable figure with the Teranishi surname was Teranishi Masatake (1903-1987), a distinguished architect who designed numerous buildings, including the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, which hosted the judo events during the 1964 Summer Olympics.

In the field of sports, Teranishi Hajime (1926-2009) was a renowned sumo wrestler who achieved the highest rank of yokozuna in 1958. He won several prestigious tournaments, including the Hatsu Basho (January Grand Sumo Tournament) and the Kyushu Basho (November Grand Sumo Tournament).

While the Teranishi surname has its roots in Japan, it has also been adopted by individuals of Japanese descent living in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant Japanese communities, such as Hawaii, Brazil, and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Teranishi

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

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

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

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