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

Yoshida, 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 Yoshida surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yoshida in America

Yoshida is the 8046th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yoshida surname appeared 4,113 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 Yoshida.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yoshida 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 Yoshida

The surname Yoshida originates from Japan and can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185 AD). It is derived from two Japanese words, "yo" meaning good or positive, and "shita" meaning below or underneath. The name was likely given to families living in the foothills or valleys below the mountains.

One of the earliest recorded references to the Yoshida surname can be found in the Kamakura period (1185-1333 AD) records of the Kamakura shogunate. These documents mention a samurai warrior named Yoshida Tsunenori who served under the Hojo clan in the late 13th century.

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573 AD), the Yoshida family was prominent in the area around present-day Kyoto. They were influential landowners and some members served as court nobles and advisors to the shogunate.

In the Edo period (1603-1868 AD), the Yoshida clan was based in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). They were ranked as hatamoto, a feudal title for a direct retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate. Notable Yoshidas from this time include Yoshida Shoin (1830-1859), a prominent scholar and educator who advocated for modernization and reform in Japan.

Other notable individuals with the Yoshida surname throughout history include:

1. Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), a Buddhist monk and author of the famous essay collection "Tsurezuregusa".
2. Yoshida Shigeru (1878-1967), a diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947.
3. Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950), a renowned woodblock print artist and a leading figure in the Shin-Hanga movement.
4. Yoshida Toshi (1924-2005), a celebrated author and winner of the Akutagawa Prize for her novel "Higan Sutra".
5. Yoshida Kotaro (1883-1963), a pioneering photographer and one of the first Japanese to study and practice photojournalism.

The Yoshida name has also been associated with various locations in Japan, such as the town of Yoshida in Shizuoka Prefecture and the Yoshida district in Kyoto, which is home to several historic Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yoshida

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

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

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

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