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

Jaya, 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 Jaya surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jaya in America

Jaya is the 91981st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jaya surname appeared 200 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 Jaya.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jaya 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 Jaya

The surname JAYA originated from India during ancient times. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "jaya" which means victory, triumph, or success. The name was initially associated with warriors, kings, and rulers who emerged victorious in battles or conquered territories.

JAYA was a common name among the ruling dynasties and aristocratic families in various parts of India. It can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures, epics, and historical texts, often referring to celebrated figures who achieved great feats or significant victories.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name JAYA dates back to the 3rd century BCE, when it appears in the Ashoka inscriptions, referring to the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great (304-232 BCE) who unified a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent under his reign.

During the medieval period, the name JAYA was prominently associated with the Chola dynasty, a renowned Tamil empire that ruled over parts of southern India between the 9th and 13th centuries CE. Several Chola kings bore the name JAYA, including Raja Raja Chola I (985-1014 CE), one of the most powerful and influential rulers of the dynasty.

Another notable figure with the surname JAYA was Vijayanagar Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529 CE), a celebrated ruler of the Vijayanagar Empire in southern India. He was known for his patronage of arts, literature, and architecture, as well as his military conquests.

In the 20th century, JAYA gained prominence as the surname of Indian political leader and former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi (1917-1984). Her full name was Indira Priyadarshini Nehru, and she adopted the surname JAYA after her marriage to Feroze Gandhi.

Other notable individuals with the surname JAYA include the Indian freedom fighter and political activist, C. Rajagopalachari (1878-1972), also known as Rajaji, and the Marathi poet and playwright, Govind Vinayak Jaya (1904-1991), who was widely acclaimed for his literary contributions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jaya

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

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

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

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