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

Chandrasekhar, 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 Chandrasekhar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chandrasekhar in America

Chandrasekhar is the 61585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chandrasekhar surname appeared 326 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 Chandrasekhar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chandrasekhar 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 Chandrasekhar

The surname Chandrasekhar is of Indian origin, specifically from the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It is believed to have originated around the 8th or 9th century CE during the reign of the Chola dynasty. The name is a combination of the Sanskrit words "chandra" meaning moon and "sekhar" meaning crest or crown, essentially translating to "moon-crested" or "moon-crowned."

Chandrasekhar was a popular surname among the Brahmin communities of these regions, particularly those associated with the study of astronomy and astrology. The earliest recorded instances of this surname can be traced back to ancient texts and inscriptions on temple walls, where it was used to identify scholars, astronomers, and learned individuals.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Chandrasekhar is found in the Thanjavur Brahmin inscriptions, which date back to the 11th century. These inscriptions detail the contributions and achievements of various Chandrasekhar families in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy.

During the medieval period, the Chandrasekhar surname gained prominence and was associated with several notable individuals. One such individual was Chandrasekhar Acharya, a renowned mathematician and astronomer from the 14th century, who made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and authored several treatises on celestial movements.

In the 16th century, another notable figure was Chandrasekhar Sivacharya, a Vedic scholar and philosopher who played a vital role in the propagation of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. His works and teachings have had a lasting impact on the spiritual and philosophical landscape of South India.

Moving forward, the surname Chandrasekhar continued to be associated with intellectual pursuits and academic excellence. In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals to bear this surname was the renowned astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995), who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his groundbreaking work on the structure and evolution of stars.

Other notable individuals with the surname Chandrasekhar include the pioneering mathematician Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar (1876-1971), who made significant contributions to the theory of partitions, and the distinguished author and playwright Rajaji Chandrasekhar (1895-1984), known for his literary works in Tamil and English.

While the surname Chandrasekhar has its roots in South India, it has since spread to other parts of the country and even abroad due to migration and the diaspora. However, its connection to the rich intellectual and cultural heritage of the region remains strong, reflecting the pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chandrasekhar

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Chandrasekhar, 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!