Gopalakrishnan last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Gopalakrishnan

A surname common in South India referring to a devotee or servant of the Hindu god Krishna.

Gopalakrishnan, 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 Gopalakrishnan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gopalakrishnan in America

Gopalakrishnan is the 28176th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gopalakrishnan surname appeared 849 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 Gopalakrishnan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gopalakrishnan 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 28176 52714 -60.67%
Count 849 369 78.82%
Proportion per 100k 0.29 0.14 69.77%

The history of the last name Gopalakrishnan

The surname Gopalakrishnan has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the southern regions of India. It is a combination of two Sanskrit words, "Gopala," which means a cowherd or a protector of cows, and "Krishna," which is the name of a Hindu deity.

The name Gopalakrishnan traces its roots back to ancient India, where cows held a sacred and revered status in Hindu culture. It is believed that the name was initially used to identify individuals who were involved in the rearing or protection of cows, a profession that was highly regarded in those times.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Gopalakrishnan can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Puranas and the Vedas. These texts often reference individuals with similar names, indicating the prevalence of the name in ancient Indian society.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Gopalakrishnan was Gopalakrishna Bharati, a renowned Indian philosopher and spiritual leader who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was a prominent figure in the Virashaiva tradition and played a significant role in the spread of Hinduism across southern India.

Another notable figure with the surname Gopalakrishnan was Gopalakrishna Adiga, a 17th-century Indian poet and writer from the state of Karnataka. His works, primarily composed in the Kannada language, made significant contributions to the literary and cultural heritage of the region.

In the 19th century, Gopalakrishnan Gokhale, a prominent Indian social reformer and educator, played a crucial role in the development of modern education in India. He founded several educational institutions and worked tirelessly to promote the cause of education among the underprivileged sections of society.

During the early 20th century, Gopalakrishnan Narayanan, an Indian independence activist and politician, was a prominent figure in the Indian struggle for independence from British rule. He played an active role in the Indian National Congress and was instrumental in mobilizing support for the freedom movement.

In the field of science, Gopalakrishnan Ramachandran, a renowned Indian physicist and crystallographer, made significant contributions to the study of protein structures and the development of the Ramachandran plot, a widely used tool in structural biology.

These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname Gopalakrishnan who have left an indelible mark on various fields throughout history. The name continues to be widely used in India, particularly in the southern states, and serves as a testament to the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gopalakrishnan

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

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 Gopalakrishnan was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 1.18% 10
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 97.41% 827
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.71% 6
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 1.18% (S)% (S)%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 97.41% 96.48% 0.96%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.71% 1.90% -91.19%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

"Gopalakrishnan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/gopalakrishnan-surname-popularity/.

"Gopalakrishnan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/gopalakrishnan-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.