The Kobayashi surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,845 people carried this name — #8,568 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 76,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,772 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Kobayashi surname

Borrowed from Japanese 小林 (Kobayashi).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kobayashi» (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 65 people named Kobayashi 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 42
Mendoza 13
City of Buenos Aires 10

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

40 people named Kobayashi live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

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

Where they live today

Geneva 15
Vaud 10
Zurich 8
Bern 4
Basel-Landschaft 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 France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 23 people named Kobayashi.

Most of them — 21 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 1 département, most often Paris.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 21
Paris 2

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

69 people named Kobayashi are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 47
Finland (2026) 22

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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Kobayashi in American newspapers,
1910–1945.

Newspaper page from Arizona Republican carrying the name Kobayashi
Arizona Republican 1910-11-01
Newspaper page from The Daily Worker carrying the name Kobayashi
The Daily Worker 1933-10-07
Newspaper page from The People'S Voice carrying the name Kobayashi
The People'S Voice 1945-03-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,831 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kobayashi in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1990s.

589 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kobayashi. The most, 478, date from the 1940s. Queensland 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 162
New South Wales 144
Western Australia 79
Victoria 62
Tasmania 46
South Australia 43
ACT (Canberra) 40

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

Who carried it

People named Kobayashi,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Kobayashi Kenichiro
    Kobayashi Kenichiro 1845–1929 · politician
  • Kobayashi Mango
    Kobayashi Mango 1870–1947 · painter
  • Ichizō Kobayashi
    Ichizō Kobayashi 1873–1957 · businessperson
  • Junzō Kobayashi
    Junzō Kobayashi 1888–1982 · lawyer
  • Toan Kobayashi
    Toan Kobayashi 1916–2007 · calligrapher

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 218 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kobayashi,
in the records of 3 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 States541 records

541 records of the Kobayashi name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 417
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 83
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 29
  • Sacramento County historic burials 9
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Roy Shigeru Kobayashi

    Born 1940; from Honolulu, Hawaii. U.S. Army, combat engineer unit commander; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harold M. Kobayashi

    Born 1914. Enlisted 1941; machine shop worker from Hawaii. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Kenichi Kobayashi

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1894, died 1951; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

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

Showing 3 of 541 records for Kobayashi 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, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada21 records

21 records of the Kobayashi name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 19
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Victor Kazumi Kobayashi

    Buried in 1993 at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, aged 81.

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

    Died 1940; 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 Takashi Tex Kobayashi

    Died in service in 1965.

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

Showing 3 of 21 records for Kobayashi in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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).

France3 records

3 records of the Kobayashi 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 Yoshio Kobayashi

    Born 1947 in Japan; died 1999 in Villejuif (Val-de-Marne).

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

    Born 1932 in Japan; died 1997 in Lyon (Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Kobayashi in France.

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kobayashi.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kobayashi 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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