Explore the Family Name Kawashima

The meaning of Kawashima

Japanese: written 川島 ‘river island’. It is mainly found in eastern Japan and the Ryūkyū Islands. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Hidenori, Hiroshi, Makoto, Masako, Mikio, Satoru, Yoko, Akihiro, Akio, Fujio, Hanako, Hideo.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Kawashima saw a decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. Ranked 38,035th in 2000, it dropped to 44,957th by 2010, representing an 18.2% change. The count also decreased from 548 individuals with this surname in 2000 to 477 in 2010, signifying a decline of 12.96%. The proportion of people with the surname Kawashima per 100,000 also decreased by 20.0%, from 0.2 in 2000 to 0.16 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#38,035	#44,957	-18.2%
Count	548	477	-12.96%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.16	-20%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kawashima

When it comes to ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the majority of those with the surname Kawashima are of Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity, though the percentage decreased from 87.59% in 2000 to 84.91% in 2010. The second most common ethnicity is "two or more races", which increased slightly from 7.48% to 7.97% during the same period. The percentage of White individuals with this surname also increased from 4.20% in 2000 to 5.66% in 2010. Hispanic representation among individuals with the Kawashima surname had a small increase, rising from 0 to 1.05%. There were no recorded instances of individuals identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	87.59%	84.91%	-3.06%
Two or More Races	7.48%	7.97%	6.55%
White	4.2%	5.66%	34.76%
Hispanic	0%	1.05%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%