2000
#20,599
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,195
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Datta
A Sanskrit surname meaning 'gift' or 'donation'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,939 Americans carry the last name Datta. That puts it at #11,696 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,623 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Datta surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Datta with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 116,623
Census rank
#11,696
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,563 bearers of the surname Datta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11696th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Datta, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Datta
The surname DATTA originated in India and can be traced back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "datta" which means "given" or "bestowed." The name was commonly found among members of the Brahmin caste, particularly in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DATTA appears in the Damodarpur copper-plate inscription, dated to the 5th century AD, during the reign of the Gupta Empire. This ancient document mentions a person named Datta who held an important administrative position.
In the 11th century, the name DATTA is mentioned in the Chand Bardai's Prithviraj Raso, an epic poem that chronicles the life of the legendary Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan. The poem refers to a minister named Datta who served under the king.
The DATTA surname has also been associated with several notable figures in Indian history. One of the most famous was Narendranath Datta (1863-1939), better known as Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk and philosopher who played a crucial role in introducing Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.
Another prominent individual with the DATTA surname was Sudhamoy Datta (1901-1975), a renowned Bengali poet and novelist who was awarded the Jnanpith Award, one of India's highest literary honors.
In the field of music, Annapurna Datta (1917-2008) was a celebrated Hindustani classical vocalist and recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award.
The DATTA surname has also been associated with several place names in India. For example, Dattapukur is a locality in Kolkata, West Bengal, named after the ancient Datta family that once resided there.
Over the centuries, the spelling of the DATTA surname has undergone minor variations, such as Dutta, Datta, and Datto, but the core meaning and pronunciation have remained largely unchanged.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Datta
Among Census respondents with the surname Datta, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Datta bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Datta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.8% · 2,225
- White6.2% · 159
- Two or more races4.8% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 25
- Black or African American0.9% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Datta
Datta appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#16,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,813
+618 bearers (+51.7%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 4,587 places
2020
#11,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,563
+750 bearers (+41.4%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 4,316 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,599 | 1,195 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,012 | 1,813 | 0.61 | +618 bearers (+51.7%) | Up 4,587 places |
| 2020 | #11,696 | 2,563 | 0.86 | +750 bearers (+41.4%) | Up 4,316 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Datta surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #16,012 | #11,696 | 27.0% |
| Count | 1,813 | 2,563 | 41.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.61 | 0.86 | 40.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Datta bearers went from 1,813 to 2,563 (+41.4% change). The surname moved up 4,316 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,012 to #11,696.
FAQ
Datta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Datta?
Name Census estimates that about 2,939 living Americans carry the surname Datta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,623 residents.
How common is Datta?
Datta ranks #11,696 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,563 people with the surname Datta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,939), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Datta.
Has Datta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Datta went from 1,813 recorded bearers to 2,563. That is an increase of 750 (+41.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,012 to #11,696.
What does the Census say about the background of Datta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Datta, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Datta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (2,225 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Datta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (86.8%), White (6.2%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Datta (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Datta mean?
A Sanskrit surname meaning 'gift' or 'donation'. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Datta (0.86 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Datta?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.