Explore the Family Name Okane

The meaning of Okane

Japanese (pronounced as three syllables): 1. written 岡根 ‘root of the hill’. 2. (Ōkane): written 大神 ‘great deity’. This is a rare surname in Japan. In North America, it could also be a shortening of the Okinawan surname Ōkaneku, which is written phonetically 大兼久 ‘great’, ‘combine’, and ‘long time’. — Note: The population figure published by the US Census Bureau does not distinguish between the surnames Okane and O’Kane.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Okane has seen a slight increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Okane ranked 11,937 in popularity with a count of 2,401 people bearing the surname. By 2010, it maintained a similar rank at 11,936 and increased in count to 2,621 individuals. This represents an approximate growth of 9.16% over the ten-year period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#11,937	#11,936	0.01%
Count	2,401	2,621	9.16%
Proportion per 100k	0.89	0.89	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Okane

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some shifting trends for those with the Okane surname. The most significant change from 2000 to 2010 was in the Black community which saw a 197.89% increase, while there was a decrease in those identifying as White by -5.65%. The Asian/Pacific Islander category also decreased by -21.68%, while the Hispanic group saw a rise of 42.16%. Those identifying with two or more races and American Indian and Alaskan Native categories experienced an increase by 17.81% and 13.51% respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	90.3%	85.2%	-5.65%
Black	2.37%	7.06%	197.89%
Hispanic	2.04%	2.9%	42.16%
Asian/Pacific Islander	3.46%	2.71%	-21.68%
Two or More Races	1.46%	1.72%	17.81%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.37%	0.42%	13.51%