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

Yamaguchi, 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 Yamaguchi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yamaguchi in America

Yamaguchi is the 10931st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yamaguchi surname appeared 2,912 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Yamaguchi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yamaguchi 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 Yamaguchi

The surname Yamaguchi originates from Japan and dates back several centuries. It is a locational name derived from the city of Yamaguchi, located in Yamaguchi Prefecture on the island of Honshu. The name itself consists of two Japanese words: "yama" meaning "mountain" and "guchi" meaning "mouth" or "entrance," likely referring to the city's location near the mountains and the sea.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Yamaguchi name can be found in the Azuma Kagami, a historical chronicle compiled in the late 13th century. This text references several individuals with the surname Yamaguchi, indicating that the name was already well-established during the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

During the Sengoku period (1467-1603), a prominent figure named Yamaguchi Nobuyoshi (1556-1614) served as a retainer to the famous daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu. Yamaguchi played a crucial role in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which solidified Tokugawa's control over Japan and ushered in the Edo period.

Another notable individual was Yamaguchi Yoshiko (1920-1992), better known by her stage name Ri Koran. She was a Japanese actress and singer who became a prominent figure in Manchuria during the Second Sino-Japanese War and later settled in North Korea after the war.

In the realm of literature, Yamaguchi Seishi (1785-1832) was a prominent poet and scholar of the late Edo period. He is particularly known for his contributions to the study of the Man'yōshū, one of the oldest existing collections of Japanese poetry.

More recently, Yamaguchi Toru (1924-1972) was a renowned Japanese writer and playwright. His works often explored the themes of alienation and the human condition in post-war Japan. His play "The Scorpion Seal" (Sasori no Renbun) is considered a masterpiece of modern Japanese theatre.

Throughout history, the Yamaguchi surname has been associated with various notable figures across various fields, reflecting its deep roots and significance in Japanese culture and society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yamaguchi

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

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

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

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