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

Balakrishnan, 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 Balakrishnan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Balakrishnan in America

Balakrishnan is the 21583rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Balakrishnan surname appeared 1,209 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 Balakrishnan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Balakrishnan 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 Balakrishnan

The surname Balakrishnan is of Indian origin, specifically from the Tamil Nadu region of South India. It dates back several centuries and has its roots in the ancient Tamil language.

Balakrishnan is a combination of two Tamil words, "Bala" meaning strength or power, and "Krishnan" which is a reference to the Hindu deity Lord Krishna. The name can be roughly translated to mean "the powerful Krishna" or "the strong Krishna."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Balakrishnan can be found in ancient Tamil literature, such as the Sangam poetry, which dates back to the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. These literary works often mentioned individuals with this surname, indicating its widespread use during that time period.

One notable historical figure with the surname Balakrishnan was Balakrishna Deva Raya, who ruled the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century (1509-1529 CE). He was a powerful ruler who expanded the empire's territories and patronized the arts and literature.

Another prominent individual was Sir Balakrishna Venkata Raman, an Indian physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his groundbreaking work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the Raman effect. He was born in 1888 and passed away in 1970.

In the 18th century, there was a famous Tamil scholar and grammarian named Balakrishna Mudaliar, who made significant contributions to the study and preservation of the Tamil language and literature.

The name Balakrishnan can also be traced back to various place names in Tamil Nadu, such as Balakrishnapuram, Balakrishnampatti, and Balakrishnannagar, which likely derived their names from individuals or families with the surname Balakrishnan who settled in those areas.

Another notable individual was Balakrishnan Nair, an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a prominent role in the Indian independence movement and worked towards the upliftment of the underprivileged communities in Kerala.

While the surname Balakrishnan has its origins in South India, it has since spread to other parts of the country and even to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its historical roots can be traced back to the ancient Tamil culture and language.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Balakrishnan

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

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

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

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