The Kato surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,257 people carried this name — #6,461 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 56,200 people counted. That is up 15% from 4,591 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Kato surname

Borrowed from Japanese 加藤 (Katō).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kato» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 66 people named Kato live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 36
City of Buenos Aires 30

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

58 people named Kato live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 19
Geneva 14
Vaud 10
Bern 4
St. Gallen 4
Ticino 4
Zug 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

94 people named Kato is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 94

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Kato in American newspapers,
1894–1905.

Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Kato
New-york Tribune 1894-12-16
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Kato
New-york Tribune 1894-11-22
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Kato
Daily Kennebec Journal 1905-06-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 487 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kato in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

5,643 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kato. The most, 971, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,134
Queensland 1,457
Victoria 1,230
Tasmania 301
Western Australia 217
South Australia 184
ACT (Canberra) 54
Northern Territory 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kato.

Who carried it

People named Kato,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Daijiro Kato
    Daijiro Kato 1976–2003 · motorcycle racer
  • Moriyuki Kato 1934–2020 · politician
  • Seiko Kato Behr 1941–2010 · sculptor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Daijiro Kato: Rikita, CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) · 32 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kato,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States686 records

686 records of the Kato name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 491
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 118
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 43
  • Sacramento County historic burials 14
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 10
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Dane Kato

    Born 1921 in California. Enlisted 1941 at Sacramento; barber from Solano County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Georg Kato

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the Pretoria from Hamburg, aged 35; farm laborer. From Budapest, Hungary; bound for Passaic. Born in Nagy Szollos, Hungary.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Donald Patrick Kato

    U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1950, died 1996; buried at Oak Mound Cemetery, Healdsburg, California.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 686 records for Kato in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Kato name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 17
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harry Kato

    Buried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 80.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Sekihei Kato

    Died 1912; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William George Kato

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 19 records for Kato in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands17 records

17 records of the Kato name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 9
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 7
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hendrik Kato

    Married in 1826 in Deventer; "smitsknecht", born 1802.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Johan Kato

    Died 1814 in Utrecht, aged 19.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Daniel Henricus Johannes Kato

    In the population register of Vlissingen; born 1878 in Alphen.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Vlissingen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 17 records for Kato in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Australia3 records

3 records of the Kato name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Steven Suto Kato

    Gov employee of Kew, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Steven Kato

    Gov employee of Kew, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Kato in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France3 records

3 records of the Kato name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Fusako Kato

    Born 1927 in Japan; died 1990 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Hidehiko Kato

    Born 1956 in Japan; died 2000 in Orléans (Loiret).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Hajime Kato

    Born 1925 in Japan; died 2000 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Kato name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Heinrich Kato

    From Heiden, Detmold. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 28 August 1916 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 84).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kato.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kato is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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