Explore the Family Name Arai

The meaning of Arai

Japanese: variously written, usually with characters 新井 meaning ‘new well’. The original meaning is 新居 ‘new residence’. Another version has 荒 ‘wild’ as the first element. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Kaz, Takashi, Hiroshi, Kenichi, Kenji, Kiyoshi, Shinji, Akira, Hideki, Hideo, Hirokazu, Mamoru.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Arai in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Arai experienced a decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 24,615 in popularity, with 951 individuals carrying the name. However, by 2010, the rank had slipped to 28,967 with only 820 individuals identified as Arais, marking a decrease of 13.77 percent. The proportion of Arai per 100,000 people also saw a 20 percent decrease during this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#24,615	#28,967	-17.68%
Count	951	820	-13.77%
Proportion per 100k	0.35	0.28	-20%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Arai

On the subject of ethnic identity, the census data highlights that the majority of individuals with the surname Arai identify as Asian/Pacific Islander. This group increased from 75.92 percent in 2000 to 77.93 percent in 2010. There was also growth in those identifying as having two or more races, increasing by 33.93 percent in the same period. Conversely, there was a significant drop in those identifying as White, with a decrease of 21.47 percent. Additionally, Hispanic representation rose from zero to 2.8 percent, while the number of Black individuals with the Arai surname dropped to zero. There were no American Indian and Alaskan Natives with the Arai surname recorded in either year. All data is based on the Decennial U.S. Census.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	75.92%	77.93%	2.65%
White	13.04%	10.24%	-21.47%
Two or More Races	6.1%	8.17%	33.93%
Hispanic	0%	2.8%	0%
Black	2.52%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%