Bhakta last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Bhakta

A Hindu surname indicating a devotee or worshipper, derived from the Sanskrit word "bhakti" meaning devotion or worship.

Bhakta, 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 Bhakta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bhakta in America

Bhakta is the 9664th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bhakta surname appeared 3,359 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 Bhakta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bhakta 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9664 8644 11.14%
Count 3,359 3,502 -4.17%
Proportion per 100k 1.14 1.30 -13.11%

The history of the last name Bhakta

The surname BHAKTA is of Indian origin and can be traced back to the ancient Sanskrit language. It is derived from the word "bhakta," which means "devotee" or "one who is devoted to a particular deity or spiritual path."

The name BHAKTA has its roots in the Bhakti movement, a spiritual revival that swept across the Indian subcontinent between the 7th and 17th centuries. The Bhakti movement emphasized devotion, love, and surrender to the divine, and it gave rise to many saints, poets, and philosophers who championed this path of spiritual enlightenment.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BHAKTA can be found in the writings of the 8th-century Hindu philosopher and mystic, Adi Shankara. He referred to those who followed the path of Bhakti as "Bhaktas," highlighting their unwavering devotion to the divine.

The BHAKTA surname gained prominence during the medieval period in India, particularly in the regions of Bengal, Odisha, and the Krishna Valley, where the Bhakti movement had a profound influence. Many families adopted the surname BHAKTA as a way to identify themselves with this spiritual tradition.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname BHAKTA was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), a renowned Vaishnava saint and the founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. He was often referred to as "Bhakta Chaitanya" by his followers, signifying his intense devotion to Lord Krishna.

Another prominent figure was Surdas (1478-1584), a blind poet and saint from the Bhakti tradition, who composed numerous devotional songs and verses in praise of Lord Krishna. His works, such as the Sursagar, are considered literary masterpieces and are still widely studied and celebrated today.

In the 17th century, Tulsidas (1532-1623), a Brahmin poet and philosopher, wrote the famous Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas, which retells the story of Lord Rama. He is often referred to as "Bhakta Tulsidas" for his unwavering devotion to Lord Rama and his contributions to the Bhakti movement.

Mirabai (1498-1546), a Rajput princess and renowned Bhakti poet, is another figure associated with the BHAKTA surname. Her devotional poems, dedicated to Lord Krishna, are celebrated for their depth of emotion and spiritual longing.

In more recent times, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), a renowned Hindu monk and philosopher, was often referred to as "Bhakta Vivekananda" for his deep devotion to his spiritual teacher, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and his contributions to the spread of Vedanta philosophy around the world.

The surname BHAKTA continues to be prevalent in various parts of India, particularly among families with roots in the Bhakti tradition and those who identify with the spiritual path of devotion and surrender to the divine.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bhakta

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

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 Bhakta was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 1.43% 48
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.15% 5
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 95.89% 3,221
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.42% 14
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.98% 33
Hispanic Origin 1.13% 38

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 Bhakta has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 1.43% 0.57% 86.00%
Black 0.15% 0.17% -12.50%
Asian and Pacific Islander 95.89% 92.20% 3.92%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.42% 0.20% 70.97%
Two or More Races 0.98% 5.97% -143.60%
Hispanic 1.13% 0.89% 23.76%

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

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

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"Bhakta last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/bhakta-surname-popularity/.

"Bhakta last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/bhakta-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 October, 2024

Bhakta last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/bhakta-surname-popularity/.

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