Terashima last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Terashima

A Japanese surname likely derived from a place name containing the elements "tera" (temple) and "shima" (island).

Terashima, 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 Terashima surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Terashima in America

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

The Terashima 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 Terashima.

We can also compare 2010 data for Terashima 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 127494 136783 -7.03%
Count 134 113 17.00%
Proportion per 100k 0.05 0.04 22.22%

The history of the last name Terashima

The surname TERASHIMA has its origins in Japan and can be traced back to the 15th century. It is a locational name, derived from the place name "Terashima" which means "Shining Island" in Japanese. The name is believed to have originated in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, where there are several villages and towns with the name "Terashima".

The earliest recorded use of the surname TERASHIMA can be found in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) records, where it was written as "手良島". This spelling variation was used until the late 16th century when the modern spelling of "寺島" was adopted.

In the Edo Period (1603-1868), the name TERASHIMA is mentioned in several historical documents and records, including the "Shinpen Kokujisho" (新編国籍書), a comprehensive record of Japanese family names and their origins.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname TERASHIMA was Terashima Munenori (1561-1619), a samurai and daimyo (feudal lord) who served under the Tokugawa Shogunate. He was the founder of the Terashima clan and the lord of the Himeji Domain in present-day Hyogo Prefecture.

Another prominent figure was Terashima Mitsuki (1863-1914), a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Home Affairs in the early 20th century.

In the literary world, Terashima Tsuraki (1865-1939) was a renowned Japanese novelist and poet, known for his works such as "Kurenai-ni Akai Hanabira" (紅に濃き花びら) and "Shunsho no Hana" (春暖の花).

Terashima Masayuki (1925-2012) was a celebrated Japanese film director and screenwriter, best known for his critically acclaimed films like "Karumen kokyo ni kaeru" (カルメン故郷に帰る) and "Sora no daibutsu" (空の大仏).

Terashima Hiroshi (1947-present) is a contemporary Japanese artist, known for his avant-garde installations and performance art. He has exhibited his works at major international venues, including the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Terashima

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

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 Terashima was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 7.46% 10
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 82.84% 111
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 8.96% 12
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Terashima has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 7.46% 4.42% 51.18%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 82.84% 87.61% -5.60%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 8.96% 7.96% 11.82%
Hispanic (S)% 0.00% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Terashima last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/terashima-surname-popularity/.

"Terashima last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/terashima-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Terashima last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/terashima-surname-popularity/.

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