Explore the Family Name Kawakami
The meaning of Kawakami
Japanese: written 川上 ‘above the river’. It is found throughout Japan and the Ryūkyū Islands. Two families from villages of that name, in Iwami (now part of Shimane prefecture) and Shimotsuke (now Tochigi prefecture), descend from the Sasaki and northern Fujiwara respectively. Another samurai family is of Satsuma (now Kagoshima prefecture). The characters are sometimes pronounced Kawanoe or Kawaue. Listed in the Shinsen shōjiroku. A less common rendering is 川神 ‘river deity’. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Yoji, Kenji, Takeo, Atsushi, Hiroshi, Ichiro, Katsunori, Kazuo, Kiyoshi, Masako, Mikio, Noboru.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Kawakami in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Kawakami saw a minor decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 19,976th most popular name and by 2010, slightly fell to the 20,985th position, marking a 5.05% decline in rank. However, there was an increase in the actual number of people with the Kawakami surname during this period. The count rose from 1,243 people in 2000 to 1,254 in 2010, a growth of 0.88%. The proportion per 100,000 also decreased by 6.52%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #19,976 | #20,985 | -5.05% |
| Count | 1,243 | 1,254 | 0.88% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.46 | 0.43 | -6.52% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kawakami
Regarding ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that most individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, although this percentage did drop from 79.32% in 2000 to 72.25% in 2010. The second most prominent ethnic identity associated with the Kawakami surname is "Two or more races". This group saw significant growth by 56% over the decade. Although Whites make up a smaller portion of people with the Kawakami surname, their percentage remained nearly steady, decreasing only slightly from 7.32% to 7.26%. The Hispanic representation increased by 53.11%, albeit from a small base of 3.54% in 2000. There were no individuals who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either 2000 or 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 79.32% | 72.25% | -8.91% |
| Two or More Races | 9.25% | 14.43% | 56% |
| White | 7.32% | 7.26% | -0.82% |
| Hispanic | 3.54% | 5.42% | 53.11% |
| Black | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |