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

Bengali, 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 Bengali surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bengali in America

Bengali is the 122314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bengali surname appeared 141 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 Bengali.

The history of the last name Bengali

The surname "BENGALI" is a toponymic name, derived from the region of Bengal in the Indian subcontinent. The name likely originated during the medieval period when surnames began to be adopted in the region.

Bengal was a historical region that encompassed present-day Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and parts of Assam. The name "Bengal" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Vanga," which was the ancient name for the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "BENGALI" can be found in the "Ain-i-Akbari," a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The document lists several individuals with the surname, indicating its use during the Mughal period.

In the 17th century, the "BENGALI" surname appeared in historical records related to the East India Company, which had established a presence in Bengal. During this period, many Bengali individuals likely adopted the surname to distinguish themselves from other communities.

One notable individual with the surname "BENGALI" was Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (1691-1765), a Bengali nobleman who played a significant role in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which paved the way for the British East India Company's control over Bengal.

Another prominent figure was Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), a Bengali philosopher, social reformer, and the founder of the Brahmo Samaj movement. He was a pioneer of modern Indian Renaissance and is considered a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance.

During the 19th century, the surname "BENGALI" gained further recognition with individuals like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891), a Bengali polymath and a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance. He was a philosopher, educator, writer, and social reformer.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, was also a renowned figure with the surname "BENGALI." He was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974), a Bengali physicist and mathematician, is another notable individual with the surname "BENGALI." He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics and the discovery of the Bose-Einstein condensate.

While the surname "BENGALI" has its roots in the Bengal region, it has since been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and communities, both within and outside the Indian subcontinent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bengali

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

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

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

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