2000
#10,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,875
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Yamaguchi
A Japanese surname referring to someone who lived near or at the base of a mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,183 Americans carry the last name Yamaguchi. That puts it at #10,961 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,683 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yamaguchi 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
3.2K
1 in 107,683
Census rank
#10,961
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,776 bearers of the surname Yamaguchi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10961st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yamaguchi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.4%) and White (6.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yamaguchi
Among Census respondents with the surname Yamaguchi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.4%) and White (6.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Yamaguchi 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 Yamaguchi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander76.3% · 2,119
- Two or more races11.4% · 316
- White6.6% · 182
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 153
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi 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
#10,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,912
+37 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 658 places
2020
#10,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,776
-136 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,273 | 2,875 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,931 | 2,912 | 0.99 | +37 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 658 places |
| 2020 | #10,961 | 2,776 | 0.93 | -136 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 30 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 Yamaguchi 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 | #10,931 | #10,961 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,912 | 2,776 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.93 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yamaguchi bearers went from 2,912 to 2,776 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,931 to #10,961.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Yamaguchi
FAQ
Yamaguchi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yamaguchi?
Name Census estimates that about 3,183 living Americans carry the surname Yamaguchi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,683 residents.
How common is Yamaguchi?
Yamaguchi ranks #10,961 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,776 people with the surname Yamaguchi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,183), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Yamaguchi.
Has Yamaguchi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yamaguchi went from 2,912 recorded bearers to 2,776. That is a decrease of 136 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,931 to #10,961.
What does the Census say about the background of Yamaguchi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yamaguchi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.4%) and White (6.6%). 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 Yamaguchi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (2,119 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yamaguchi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (76.3%), Two or More Races (11.4%), White (6.6%). 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 Yamaguchi (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 Yamaguchi mean?
A Japanese surname referring to someone who lived near or at the base of a mountain. 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 Yamaguchi (0.93 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 Yamaguchi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.