Explore the Family Name Matsuda

The meaning of Matsuda

Japanese: written 松田 ‘pine tree rice paddy’. It is a habitational name from any of the many places so named in western Japan and the Ryūkyū Islands. The word 松 matsu ‘pine’ is commonly used in poetry as a pun to mean 待つ ‘wait’, implying in this case hope of a divine visitation to a sacred rice paddy. It is also related to the verb 祭る matsuru ‘to perform religious ceremonies’; the name therefore has connections with priestly families of the Shintō religion. Other names with similar religious derivations include Matsumoto and Matsuoka. Several families of noble (especially Fujiwara) descent have taken the name. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Hiroshi, Kenji, Takeshi, Fujio, Hiroko, Hiroyuki, Kaoru, Kiyoshi, Sachiko, Seigo, Takashi, Yuji.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Matsuda experienced a decrease in popularity from the year 2000 to 2010. The rank of the name fell from 13,175th in 2000 to 14,604th in 2010, marking a drop of approximately 10.85%. Concurrently, the count — or total number of people bearing the surname — also decreased by 4.14%, going from 2,126 individuals in 2000 to 2,038 in 2010. This resulted in a decline of about 12.66% in the proportion per 100,000 population, which dropped from 0.79 in 2000 to 0.69 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#13,175#14,604-10.85%
Count2,1262,038-4.14%
Proportion per 100k0.790.69-12.66%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Matsuda

Regarding the ethnicity associated with the Matsuda surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some interesting changes between 2000 and 2010. The highest percentage of individuals with Matsuda as their last name identified themselves as Asian/Pacific Islander in both years, but this group's share dropped from 83.30% in 2000 to 79.24% in 2010. Meanwhile, there was an increase of 33.54% in the proportion of people identifying with two or more races. The percentage of those who identified as White decreased by 15.78%, while the Hispanic representation saw a significant growth of 115.74%. The percent of those who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native was either very low or suppressed for privacy reasons in both census years.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander83.3%79.24%-4.87%
Two or More Races8.23%10.99%33.54%
White5.83%4.91%-15.78%
Hispanic2.16%4.66%115.74%
Black0.47%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%

Matsuda ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Matsuda is Japanese, which comprises 72.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (8.6%) and French & German (6.1%). Additional ancestries include Korean, Chinese, Spanish & Portuguese, Eastern European, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Japanese72.0%
British & Irish8.6%
French & German6.1%
Other13.4%
Matsuda

Possible origins of the surname Matsuda

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Matsuda have recent ancestry locations in Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan73.60%
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan73.60%
Tokyo, Japan58.50%
Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan43.40%
Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan32.10%

What Matsuda haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Matsuda is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Matsuda surname are: M, A, D4. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

matsudaPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the Han

Members of haplogroup D are found in both northern and southern Han Chinese populations at low to moderate frequencies. The Han people, who all share the same language and similar cultural practices, are the largest ethnic group in the world, with about 1.2 billion people. Historical evidence shows that Han people are descendants of the ancient Huaxia tribes that come from northern China, and Han language and culture only expanded into southern China in the last 2,000 years. The spread of Han people and culture from northern to southern China was likely driven by warfare and famine in the north.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Matsuda have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Matsuda

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Matsuda" Surname 41.2%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Matsuda

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Matsuda" Surname 27.8%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Habits

Matsuda

Learn Language As Adult

Learning a new language through formal or informal means after 18 years of age.

"Matsuda" Surname 38.5%

23andMe Users 25.8%

Wellness

Matsuda

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Matsuda" Surname 9.1%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Matsuda?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Matsuda are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Celiac Disease

HLA-DQ8 variant

Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition in which the consumption of gluten (found in wheat, barley, and rye) can result in damage to the small intestine. Celiac disease can lead to both digestive and non-digestive problems. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes two common variants associated with an increased risk of developing this condition. Learn more about Celiac Disease

Japanese 18.2%

23andMe Users 20.0%