Explore the Family Name Murata

The meaning of Murata

Japanese: written 村田 ‘village rice paddy’. It is found throughout Japan, but not in large numbers. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Hiroshi, Hideyuki, Kiyoshi, Koji, Akira, Kazu, Kazuo, Kenji, Makoto, Minoru, Naoki, Osamu.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Murata has seen a slight decrease from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Murata was ranked 20,270 in popularity, but by 2010, it had slipped to 21,048, marking a change of -3.84%. However, the actual count of individuals bearing this surname rose marginally over the same period, from 1,221 to 1,249, an increase of 2.29%. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased slightly from 0.45 to 0.42.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#20,270	#21,048	-3.84%
Count	1,221	1,249	2.29%
Proportion per 100k	0.45	0.42	-6.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Murata

The data from the Decennial U.S. Census also provides insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Murata. A notable majority of those with the Murata surname identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, though this percentage decreased slightly from 82.47% in 2000 to 79.10% in 2010. The percentage identifying as having two or more races increased by 14.92%, reaching 10.17% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of individuals identifying as White and Hispanic also saw increases, with the latter witnessing a significant surge of 70.73%, albeit from a smaller base of 1.64% in 2000. The percentages for Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native remained at zero throughout both years.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	82.47%	79.1%	-4.09%
Two or More Races	8.85%	10.17%	14.92%
White	6.55%	6.97%	6.41%
Hispanic	1.64%	2.8%	70.73%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%