Explore the Family Name Nakama

The meaning of Nakama

Japanese: variously written as 中間 ‘midway’ or 仲間 ‘companions’, among others. Found mostly in western Japan and the Ryūkyū islands. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Akira, Sueo, Takeo, Tsuneo, Yuki, Chikako, Haruko, Hiroshi, Kameko, Kaoru, Keiko, Kiyoko.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Nakama declined in popularity between 2000 and 2010. Ranked at 30,716 in 2000, it shifted to 35,622 in 2010, representing a decrease of about 16%. The count of individuals with this surname also decreased over the decade, dropping from 716 to 631, marking an approximate decrease of 12%. Consequently, the proportion of people named Nakama per 100,000 population decreased by approximately 22%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#30,716	#35,622	-15.97%
Count	716	631	-11.87%
Proportion per 100k	0.27	0.21	-22.22%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nakama

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Nakama also saw changes between 2000 and 2010, as reported by the Decennial U.S. Census data. A majority of Nakamas identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, although the percentage dipped from 84.22% in 2000 to 76.39% in 2010. On the other hand, those identifying as having two or more races increased notably, from 7.40% to 11.73%. A significant increase was also observed among those identifying as Hispanic, going up from 3.35% to 6.66%. Meanwhile, the proportion of Nakamas identifying as White remained almost unchanged, while there were no recorded Nakamas identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	84.22%	76.39%	-9.3%
Two or More Races	7.4%	11.73%	58.51%
Hispanic	3.35%	6.66%	98.81%
White	4.89%	4.91%	0.41%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%