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

Chopra, 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 Chopra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chopra in America

Chopra is the 10979th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chopra surname appeared 2,897 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 Chopra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chopra 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 Chopra

The surname Chopra is of Indian origin, specifically from the Punjab region of northern India. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries.

The name Chopra is derived from the Sanskrit word "Chopra," which means "poet" or "writer." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely poets, scholars, or writers by profession or occupation.

In ancient Indian texts and manuscripts, such as the Puranas and the Epics, there are references to individuals with the name Chopra. While specific dates are difficult to pinpoint, these mentions indicate the antiquity of the name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Chopra can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It mentions a poet named Kavi Chopra, who lived during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605).

Another notable historical figure with the surname Chopra was Bhai Mati Das Chopra, a Sikh scholar and martyr who lived in the 17th century. He was executed in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islam during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Chopra surname was prevalent in various parts of Punjab, particularly in the cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar. Some prominent individuals from this period include Lala Dharam Das Chopra (1781-1858), a renowned poet and author, and Nawab Kapur Singh Chopra (1812-1884), a nobleman and philanthropist.

In more recent history, several noteworthy individuals with the surname Chopra have gained recognition in various fields. These include Dr. Deepak Chopra (born 1946), a world-renowned author, physician, and alternative medicine advocate; Anil Chopra (born 1956), a renowned civil engineer and academic; and Priyanka Chopra (born 1982), a celebrated actress and former Miss World.

While the surname Chopra is primarily associated with the Indian subcontinent, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots can be traced back to the Punjab region of northern India, where it originated as a name associated with poets, writers, and scholars.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chopra

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

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

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

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