How common is the surname Tanaka?

7,994 people in the United States had the surname Tanaka in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 38,622 Americans. It ranked 4,439th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Tanaka?

Tia Tanaka, American pornographic actress, followed by Pat Tanaka.

Where is the surname Tanaka most common?

Wikidata records people named Tanaka in the United States and Japan.

Is the surname Tanaka getting more or less common?

More common. 7,887 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,994 in 2010, up 1.4%.

The surname Tanaka

A Japanese surname, carried by 7,994 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex T520

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Tanaka is more common than 97.3% of them.

Origin

Japanese origin

Borrowed from Japanese 田(た)中(なか) (tanaka).

One of 123 Japanese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,994 people named Tanaka in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 38,622 Americans. That is up 1.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,887.

#4,439

rank among US surnames

7,994

people in 2010

2.7

per 100,000 Americans

+1.4%

change since 2000 (was #4,160)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,430	Staten	8,021	38,492
#4,432	Whitlow	8,020	38,497
#4,433	Sledge	8,019	38,502
#4,434	Ta	8,017	38,511
#4,435	Pulley	8,007	38,559
#4,436	Lacroix	8,003	38,579
#4,437	Goncalves	8,000	38,593

Who is named Tanaka

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

77% of people named Tanaka identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 9.4% as two or more races and 9.4% as white (not Hispanic).

Asian and Pacific Islander 77%
Two or more races 9.4%
White (not Hispanic) 9.4%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.8%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Black, Native American are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Tanakas

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Tia Tanaka
American pornographic actress, born 1987
Pat Tanaka
American professional wrestler, born 1963
Yurie Tanaka
Biathlete, born 1989

Notable Tanakas come mostly from the United States (2) and Japan (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Tanaka

Tanaka has the Soundex code T520, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T520.

Other Japanese surnames

All 123 Japanese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Tanaka come from?: Borrowed from Japanese 田(た)中(なか) (tanaka).
How common is the surname Tanaka?: 7,994 people in the United States had the surname Tanaka in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 38,622 Americans. It ranked 4,439th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Tanaka?: In the 2010 Census, 77% of people named Tanaka identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 9.4% as two or more races.
Who is the most famous person named Tanaka?: Tia Tanaka, American pornographic actress, followed by Pat Tanaka.
Where is the surname Tanaka most common?: Wikidata records people named Tanaka in the United States and Japan.
Is the surname Tanaka getting more or less common?: More common. 7,887 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,994 in 2010, up 1.4%.