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

Attai, 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 Attai surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Attai in America

Attai is the 144141st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Attai surname appeared 115 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 Attai.

The history of the last name Attai

The surname ATTAI has its roots in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the Tamil-speaking regions of southern India. The name is believed to have originated during the medieval period, around the 9th or 10th century CE. It is derived from the Tamil word "attai," which means "aunt" or "elder sister," and was likely used as a nickname or honorific title for respected women in the community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ATTAI can be found in ancient Tamil literary works, such as the Sangam literature, which dates back to the early centuries of the common era. These texts often mention individuals with the name, suggesting its widespread usage among the Tamil populace at the time.

In the 13th century, the name ATTAI appeared in several inscriptions and epigraphs found in temples and archaeological sites across Tamil Nadu. One notable example is the Airavatesvara Temple in Darasuram, where an inscription from 1244 CE mentions a lady named Attai Nangai, who was a prominent patron of the temple.

During the medieval period, the ATTAI surname was particularly common among the Vellalar community, a prominent land-owning and agricultural caste in Tamil Nadu. Some notable individuals with this surname include Vellai Attai (c. 1450-1520), a renowned Tamil poet and scholar, and Sindhamani Attai (1720-1795), a celebrated composer of devotional songs.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the ATTAI surname was also found among Tamil communities in other parts of South India, as well as in the Tamil diaspora in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. One prominent figure was Mudaliar Attai (1780-1855), a wealthy merchant and landowner in British Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).

As the name ATTAI spread across different regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Attaye, Athai, and Athey. Some of these variations were influenced by local languages and dialects, while others were the result of anglicization during the British colonial period.

Other notable individuals with the ATTAI surname include Ramaswami Attai (1850-1925), a respected Tamil scholar and author from Madras (now Chennai), and Natesa Attai (1876-1950), a prominent lawyer and social reformer from Puducherry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Attai

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

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 Attai 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.

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 Attai was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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