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

Diwa, 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 Diwa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Diwa in America

Diwa is the 67943rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Diwa surname appeared 290 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 Diwa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Diwa 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 Diwa

The surname DIWA is believed to have originated in India, with its roots tracing back to ancient Sanskrit. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Puranas, a collection of Hindu mythological texts composed between the 3rd and 10th centuries CE. In these texts, the word "diva" is used to describe a divine being or celestial light.

During the medieval period, the name DIWA emerged as a surname among certain Hindu communities, particularly in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It is speculated that the name may have been initially adopted by individuals who claimed descent from celestial or divine lineages, or those who were associated with religious or spiritual practices.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname DIWA can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century historical record commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This document mentions a nobleman named Rana Diwa Singh, who served as a military commander in the Mughal army during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605).

In the 17th century, the DIWA surname appeared in various administrative records and land ownership documents in the regions of modern-day Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Diwah" or "Deewah" in local dialects.

Notable individuals bearing the DIWA surname throughout history include:

1. Raja Diwa Singh (1777-1853), a prominent ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur in present-day Rajasthan. He played a significant role in the Anglo-Maratha wars and was known for his military prowess.

2. Pandit Shyam Lal Diwa (1850-1925), a renowned scholar of Sanskrit and Vedic literature, who authored several works on Hindu philosophy and religion.

3. Diwa Krishan Kaul (1890-1965), a pioneering Indian civil servant and administrator who served in various roles during the British Raj and later worked for the government of independent India.

4. Ramesh Chandra Diwa (1920-1998), an eminent Indian physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the fields of nuclear physics and astrophysics.

5. Anupama Diwa (born 1975), a contemporary Indian classical dancer and choreographer, known for her innovative works blending traditional and modern dance forms.

While the DIWA surname is found predominantly in India, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diasporic communities. However, its origins and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the ancient Sanskrit texts and medieval historical records of the Indian subcontinent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Diwa

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

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

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

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