Find out how popular the last name Annamalai is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Annamalai.

Annamalai, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Annamalai surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Annamalai in America

Annamalai is the 69392nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Annamalai surname appeared 283 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Annamalai.

We can also compare 2010 data for Annamalai to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Annamalai

The surname Annamalai originated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is believed to have first appeared in the 13th century. The name is derived from the Tamil words "Annan," meaning older brother or respected person, and "Malai," meaning hill or mountain.

This suggests that the name was initially used to identify individuals who resided in or near hilly regions, perhaps as a means of distinguishing them from those living in other areas. The earliest known references to the surname can be found in ancient Tamil literature and inscriptions from the Chola and Pandya dynasties that ruled over parts of Tamil Nadu during the medieval period.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Annamalai appears in a 14th-century inscription from the Srirangam temple in Trichy, where it is mentioned as the name of a local chieftain. Another notable early reference is found in the 16th-century work "Periya Puranam," which chronicles the lives of the 63 revered Nayanars, or Tamil Saivite saints.

In this text, the name Annamalai is associated with the 16th Nayanar, Idangalur Annamalai Nayanar, who was born in the village of Idangalur in the 7th century. Over the centuries, the name Annamalai has been associated with several notable individuals, including the 18th-century Tamil poet and composer Annamalai Reddiar (1712-1781), and the 19th-century Tamil scholar and author Annamalai Chettiar (1822-1901).

Another prominent figure with this surname was Annamalai Chidambaranatha Mudaliar (1860-1933), a renowned lawyer and philanthropist who established the Annamalai University in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, in 1929. The name has also been linked to various place names in Tamil Nadu, such as Annamalai Nagar and Annamalai Puram, which further underscores its deep roots in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Annamalai

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Annamalai.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Annamalai was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Annamalai has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Annamalai was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Annamalai, please contact us.

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