The Yamamoto surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,547 people carried this name — #4,702 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 39,100 people counted. That is down 1% from 7,652 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Yamamoto surname

A surname from Japanese, one of the 10 most common in Japan.

Borrowed from Japanese 山本 (Yamamoto), meaning "(one who lives at) the base of the mountain(s)" or "(one from) Yamamoto District".

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Yamamoto» (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 172 people named Yamamoto 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.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 92
City of Buenos Aires 57
Santa Fe 23

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

47 people named Yamamoto live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 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 15
Geneva 9
Vaud 8
Basel-Stadt 6
Lucerne 5
Bern 4

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

37 people named Yamamoto is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 37

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

Yamamoto in American newspapers,
1907–1942.

Newspaper page from Scott County Kicker carrying the name Yamamoto
Scott County Kicker 1907-07-20
Newspaper page from The Democratic Banner carrying the name Yamamoto
The Democratic Banner 1910-09-16
Newspaper page from The Nome Nugget carrying the name Yamamoto
The Nome Nugget 1942-02-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Yamamoto in Australian newspapers,
1900s–1990s.

583 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Yamamoto. The most, 154, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in the Northern Territory, at 142.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Northern Territory 119
Queensland 95
New South Wales 79
ACT (Canberra) 66
Victoria 58
South Australia 52
Western Australia 47
Tasmania 22

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

Who carried it

People named Yamamoto,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Yamamoto Kansuke
    Yamamoto Kansuke 1493–1561 · samurai
  • Yamamoto Tsunetomo
    Yamamoto Tsunetomo 1659–1719 · writer
  • Yamamoto Gonnohyōe
    Yamamoto Gonnohyōe 1852–1933 · politician
  • Tōyama Mitsuru
    Tōyama Mitsuru 1855–1944 · businessperson
  • Yamamoto Tatsuo
    Yamamoto Tatsuo 1856–1947 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 225 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Yamamoto,
in the records of 4 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 States1,116 records

1,116 records of the Yamamoto name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 765
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 218
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 106
  • Sacramento County historic burials 20
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Fred M. Yamamoto

    Born 1918 in California. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Francis E Warren Cheyenne, Wyoming; sales clerk. U.S. Army veteran; died 1944, 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 U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Harold Yamamoto

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1946, died 2001; buried at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, Kaneohe, Hawaii.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Kiyoe Yamamoto

    Born 1892 in Japan. Registered as a foreign national in San Diego County, California, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,116 records for Yamamoto 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Canada37 records

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

    Died 1990; 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 Sokichi Yamamoto

    Died 1928; 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 Utaro Yamamoto

    Died 1944; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

Showing 3 of 37 records for Yamamoto 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).

Australia5 records

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1915 aboard the Hitachi Maru, aged 36.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mantaro Yamamoto

    Died 1897; inquest held in Queensland.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Yamamoto 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).

France4 records

4 records of the Yamamoto 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 Kurando Yamamoto

    Born 1965 in Japan; died 1996 in Paris.

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

    Born 1943 in Japan; died 1993 in Paris.

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

    Born 1929 in Japan; died 1999 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto volume
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