Tanaka (surname)

Tanaka
Family name
Pronunciation	Tanaka
Meaning	varies
Region of origin	Japanese language Shona language
Footnotes: [1]

Tanaka (たなか) is the fourth most common Japanese surname. The surname "Tanaka" refers to several different surnames written with different kanji: ricefield & middle (田中), many & middle (多中), many & relationship (多仲), another & middle (他中), shelf & low (棚下), shelf & summer (棚夏), many & name & congratulation (多名賀). Tanaka is also a common "first name" in the Zimbabwean Shona language, which means "State of gratitude". In Shona, the name is used as an expression to symbolize the beauty, or state of gratitude (the child) that has entered the lives of the parents and family brings.

People

• Asuna Tanaka (born 1988), Japanese footballer (soccer player)
• Atsuko Tanaka (born 1962), Japanese voice actress
• Atsuko Tanaka (animator), Japanese animator
• Atsuko Tanaka (artist) (1932–2005), Japanese artist
• Chōzaburō Tanaka (1885–1976), Japanese botanist and mycologist
• Dean Tanaka, the birth name of Dean Cain (born 1966), American actor
• Eizō Tanaka (1886–1968), Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor
• Fumiaki Tanaka (born 1985), the first Japanese Rugby player to compete in Super Rugby
• Giichi Tanaka (1864–1929), Japanese general, politician, and prime minister (1927–1929)
• Haruo Tanaka (1912–1992), Japanese actor
• Hayuma Tanaka (born 1982), Japanese footballer (soccer player)
• Hidemitsu Tanaka (1913–1949) Japanese novelist
• Hideyuki Tanaka (born 1950), Japanese voice actor
• Hirokazu Tanaka (born 1957), Japanese composer and musician
• Hiromichi Tanaka (born 1962) Japanese video game developer, game producer, game director, and game designer
• Hisao Tanaka, also known as Martin Tanaka (died 1991), American professional wrestler
• Hisashige Tanaka (1799–1891), Japanese engineer and inventor, co-founder of Tanaka Seizosho, subsequently renamed Toshiba
• Tanaka Isson, born Tanaka Jun (1908–1977), Japanese Nihonga painter
• Jason Tanaka (born 1974), Japanese photographer
• Jun Tanaka (poet) (1890–1966), Japanese poet
• Jun Tanaka (footballer) (born 1983), Japanese footballer (soccer player)
• Kakuei Tanaka (1918–1993), Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan (1972–1974)
• Kensuke Tanaka (born 1981), Japanese baseball outfielder
• Kinuyo Tanaka (1909–1977), Japanese actress and director
• Koichi Tanaka (born 1959), Japanese chemist
• Koki Tanaka, Japanese singer and actor, member of the band KAT-TUN
• Koshiro Tanaka
• Kōtarō Tanaka (1901–1995), Japanese photographer
• Machi Tanaka (born 1983) Japanese long-distance runner
• Makiko Tanaka (born 1944) Japanese politician
• Marcus Tulio Tanaka (born 1981) Brazilian-born Japanese footballer (soccer player)
• Masahiko Tanaka (born 1954), Japanese voice actor
• Masahiro Tanaka (born 1988), Japanese professional baseball player who plays in America New York Yankees
• Masako Tanaka, known as Mineko Iwasaki (born 1949), Japanese geisha
• Masato Tanaka (born 1973), Japanese professional wrestler
• Mayumi Tanaka (born 1955), Japanese voice actress
• Michinori Tanaka (born 1990), Japanese mixed martial artist
• Miho Tanaka (born 1976), Japanese badminton player
• Minoru Tanaka (actor) (1966–2011), Japanese actor
• Minoru Tanaka (wrestler) (born 1972), Japanese professional wrestler and shootboxer
• Misako Tanaka (born 1959), Japanese actress
• Naoki Tanaka (born 1971), Japanese entertainer, member of the comedy duo Cocorico
• Nobuo Tanaka (born 1950), Japanese former Executive Director of the International Energy Agency
• Nobuyuki Tanaka, Japanese botanist
• Paul Tanaka American law enforcement officer and politician
• Raizō Tanaka (1892–1969), Japanese admiral
• Reina Tanaka (born 1989), Japanese singer
• Rena Tanaka (born 1980), Japanese actress and television personality
• Rie Tanaka (born 1979), Japanese singer and voice actress
• Sara Tanaka (born 1978), American actress)
• Shelley Tanaka, Canadian editor, author, translator, and writing teacher
• Shigeho Tanaka (1878–1974), Japanese ichthyologist and professor of zoology
• Shinako Tanaka (born 1975), Japanese beach volleyball player
• Shohé Tanaka (1862–1945), Japanese physicist, music theorist, and inventor
• Shōzō Tanaka (1841-1913), Japanese politician and conservationist
• Takashi Tanaka, a.k.a. Banjō Ginga (born 1948), Japanese voice actor
• Tatsuya Tanaka (figure skater) (born 1988), Taiwanese figure skater who competes for Hong Kong
• Tatsuya Tanaka (footballer) (born 1982), Japanese footballer (soccer player) and professional rehabiller
• Tanaka Tosa (1820–1868), Japanese samurai
• Tommy Tanaka, Guam politician
• Toru Tanaka or Professor Toru Tanaka, born Charles Kalani, Jr. (1930–2000), American professional wrestler and actor
• Toshiaki Tanaka, Japanese table tennis player
• Yasuo Tanaka (born 1956), Japanese novelist and politician
• Yasuo Tanaka (astronomer), Japanese astrophysicist
• Yoshiki Tanaka (born 1952), Japanese novelist
• Yoshiko Tanaka (1956–2011), Japanese actress
• Yōji Tanaka (born 1968), Japanese actor
• Yuji Tanaka (born 1965), Japanese comedian
• Yukio Tanaka (biwa) (born 1948), Japanese biwa player
• Yoshi Tanaka (born 1950) Japanese musician and electric guitar builder

Fictional characters

• Isuro Tanaka, from the feature film Major League II
• Ken Tanaka, football coach from the television series Glee
• Mariko Tanaka, from Wing Commander
• Mr. Tanaka, from F-Zero GX
• Mr. Tanaka, from Sonic X
• Mr. Tanaka, from the anime Gantz
• President Tanaka, from Persona 3
• Ryūnosuke Tanaka from Haikyū!!
• Shinichiro Tanaka, from Battle Royale (film, Special Edition)
• Shinji Tanaka, from Yakuza (video game)
• Souichirou Tanaka, character from Genshiken
• Tanaka, previous Head Butler of the Phantomhive household, character from Black Butler
• Tanaka Kazuya, from School Rumble
• Taro Tanaka, from Taro the Space Alien (Uchūjin Tanaka Tarō)
• Tiger Tanaka, from the James Bond novel and film You Only Live Twice
• Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka, main character of the manga series BECK
• Umenomori's Butler, Tanaka Mayoi Neko Overrun
• Ichiro Tanaka, character from Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
• Tanaka, the Usami household butler in Junjo Romantica
• Tanaka, the household servant in Full Moon o Sagashite
• Tanaka, from Kimi ni Todoke
• Gundam Tanaka from Dangan Ronpa
• Aiko Tanaka from Oyasumi Punpun
• Lt. Yoshi Tanaka from Magnum, P.I.
• Drew Tanaka from The Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles
• Holly Tanaka, a character in the video Game Halo 5: Guardians, Fireteam Osiris Member
• Tanaka, from Tanaka-kun is Always Listless

References

1. 1990 Census Name Files