Explore the Family Name Takahashi

The meaning of Takahashi

Japanese: variously written, usually 高橋 ‘high bridge’. It is one of the ten most common surnames in Japan and is particularly frequent in the eastern part. It is the name of an ancient family of Kyūshū island. Various legends concerning origin suggest several unrelated families. The name is also found in the Ryūkyū Islands. Some characteristic forenames: Japanese Hiroshi, Akira, Junichi, Kenichi, Kenji, Kiyoshi, Toru, Toshio, Hideo, Ichiro, Koji, Makoto.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Takahashi saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 6,378th most popular surname, but dropped to 6,839th place by 2010, marking a change of -7.23%. Despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of people with the surname increased slightly from 4,913 to 4,928, an increase of 0.31%.

20002010Change
Rank#6,378#6,839-7.23%
Count4,9134,9280.31%
Proportion per 100k1.821.67-8.24%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Takahashi

Regarding ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the majority of individuals with the surname Takahashi identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, although this percentage decreased from 86.30% in 2000 to 81.55% in 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races increased significantly from 6.64% to 10.04%, demonstrating a 51.2% change. There was also a rise in those identifying as Hispanic from 1.93% to 3.10%. The proportions of individuals identifying as White remained relatively stable at around 5%. No data was recorded for individuals identifying as Black, American Indian, or Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander86.3%81.55%-5.5%
Two or More Races6.64%10.04%51.2%
White5.03%5.11%1.59%
Hispanic1.93%3.1%60.62%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%

Takahashi 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 Takahashi is Japanese, which comprises 70.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Chinese (5.6%) and British & Irish (5.3%). Additional ancestries include Filipino & Austronesian, French & German, Eastern European, Korean, and Spanish & Portuguese.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Japanese70.2%
Chinese5.6%
British & Irish5.3%
Other18.9%
Takahashi

Possible origins of the surname Takahashi

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 Takahashi have recent ancestry locations in Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan66.10%
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan57.00%
Tokyo, Japan53.90%
Fukushima Prefecture, Japan26.70%
Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan22.40%

What Takahashi 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 Takahashi is D-Z1504, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup D-Z1504 is descended from haplogroup D-M174. Other common haplogroups include O-CTS713 and O-F1204, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Suzuki, Sato, Nakamura, Watanabe, Yamamoto, Tanaka, Yoshida, Neher, Nay, Dustin.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Takahashi surname are: H, M7a1a, D4. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.

takahashiPaternal Haplogroup Origins D-M174
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the ancient Jōmon people of Japan

Haplogroup D-M125 is a branch of D that arose over 12,000 ago, and was likely carried into Japan with the initial wave of migrants. Who were these first men to walk across the land bridge to Japan? Today, we call them the Jōmon. For thousands of years, the Jōmon lived by fishing, hunting and gathering the rich resources of the islands. They also left behind distinctive coiled pottery. In fact, their pottery was some of first in the world!Meanwhile rice agriculture was making quite an impression in mainland China and soon spread throughout eastern Asia. These rice agriculturalists arrived in Japan about 2,300 years ago, quickly taking over many parts of the archipelago. As they introduced new paternal lines, haplogroup D-M55 appears to have been mostly replaced. It did, however, survive in the descendants of the Jōmon in more isolated areas of Japan, including Hokkaido in the north and Okinawa in the south.

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 Takahashi 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

Takahashi

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Takahashi" Surname 36.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Takahashi

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Takahashi" Surname 36.8%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Takahashi

Vitamin Use

Takes vitamins on a regular basis.

"Takahashi" Surname 50.0%

23andMe Users 45.5%

Wellness

Takahashi

Migraine

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

"Takahashi" Surname 11.0%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Takahashi?

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 Takahashi 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%