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

Basu, 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 Basu surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Basu in America

Basu is the 16968th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Basu surname appeared 1,675 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Basu.

We can also compare 2010 data for Basu 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 Basu

The surname "BASU" originates from the Indian subcontinent, specifically West Bengal. It is believed to have first appeared in the 13th century during the reign of the Sena dynasty in Bengal. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "Vasu," which means "bright" or "shining."

One of the earliest known references to the surname Basu can be found in the Bhavishya Purana, an ancient Hindu text. This text mentions a sage named Basu who was revered for his wisdom and knowledge. Additionally, the name Basu is mentioned in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.

The earliest recorded example of the surname Basu dates back to the 16th century, when a scholar named Raghunath Basu authored a treatise on astrology called the "Jyotish Ratnamala." Another notable individual from this period was Govinda Basu, a renowned poet and playwright who lived in the 17th century.

During the 18th century, the Basu surname gained prominence in the region of Nadia, West Bengal. One of the most famous Basus from this era was Ishwar Chandra Basu (1720-1795), a renowned Sanskrit scholar and author of the "Tattva-Muktavali," a philosophical work on the nature of reality.

In the 19th century, the Basu family played a significant role in the Bengali Renaissance, a socio-cultural movement that aimed to modernize Bengal. Notable figures from this period include Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894), a renowned novelist and composer of the national song "Vande Mataram," and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891), a social reformer and advocate for women's education.

Another prominent Basu was Upendranath Basu (1859-1924), a lawyer and jurist who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta and played a crucial role in the establishment of the Basu Vijñāna Mandir, a notable institute for the study of science and technology.

The Basu surname has also been associated with various place names in West Bengal, such as Basudebpur, Basudevpur, and Basudebbati, reflecting the historical presence and influence of the Basu community in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Basu

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!