The Watanabe surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,204 people carried this name — #5,605 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,600 people counted. That is down 1% from 6,295 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Watanabe surname

Japanese for “place of crossing”.

A transcription of the Japanese name that may be written 渡辺, 渡部, 渡邊 or 渡邉 (Watanabe), literally “place of crossing”.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (fr.wiktionary.org, the French edition) — entry «Watanabe», by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · translated from French and condensed.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 81 people named Watanabe 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 44
City of Buenos Aires 27
Misiones 10

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

70 people named Watanabe live in Switzerland.

They live in 8 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 19
Zurich 16
Vaud 15
Zug 5
Basel-Landschaft 4
Lucerne 4
St. Gallen 4
Ticino 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 21 people named Watanabe.

Most of them — 20 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 1 département, most often Wallis and Futuna.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 20
Wallis and Futuna 1

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

In the Nordic population registers

39 people named Watanabe is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 39

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

Watanabe in American newspapers,
1904–1929.

Newspaper page from Rock Island Argus carrying the name Watanabe
Rock Island Argus 1904-08-06
Newspaper page from The Presbyterian Of The South : [Combining The] Southwestern Presbyter carrying the name Watanabe
The Presbyterian Of The South : [Combining The] Southwestern Presbyter 1912-08-14
Newspaper page from The Daily Worker carrying the name Watanabe
The Daily Worker 1929-01-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,156 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Watanabe in Australian newspapers,
1870s–1990s.

361 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Watanabe. The most, 76, date from the 1930s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 93
ACT (Canberra) 90
Queensland 60
Victoria 29
South Australia 26
Western Australia 22
Tasmania 8
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Watanabe,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Watanabe Harutsuna
    Watanabe Harutsuna 1606–1657
  • Watanabe Nobutsuna
    Watanabe Nobutsuna 1645–1689
  • Watanabe Shikō
    Watanabe Shikō 1683–1755 · artist
  • Watanabe Naotsuna
    Watanabe Naotsuna 1708–1718
  • Watanabe Yasutsuna
    Watanabe Yasutsuna 1810–1860

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 233 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Watanabe,
in the records of 5 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 States977 records

977 records of the Watanabe name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 707
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 199
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 61
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Henry M. Watanabe

    Born 1915 in Washington. Enlisted 1942 at Tacoma; office clerk from King County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Tahoma National Cemetery, Washington.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Ryoichiro Watanabe

    Born 1944; from Oxnard, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Francis Kunio Watanabe

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1936, died 2001; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

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

Showing 3 of 977 records for Watanabe 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) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada13 records

13 records of the Watanabe name in Canada Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Magoichi Watanabe

    Died 1938; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

    Died 1910; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Hideko Watanabe

    Died 1992; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 13 records for Watanabe in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Watanabe name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Utaro Watanabe

    Arrived in Victoria in 1918 aboard the Aki Maru, aged 43.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Charles Watanabe

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1894.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Omoto Watanabe

    Died 1905; inquest held in Queensland.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Watanabe in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Watanabe 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 Junko Watanabe

    Born 1964 in Japan; died 1991 in Gennevilliers (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 Seigi Watanabe

    Born 1939 in Japan; died 1993 in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).

    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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Watanabe name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Yoshimi Watanabe

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1906 in Tukuokashi.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Watanabe.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Watanabe 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.

See the Watanabe volume
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