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

Jayasinghe, 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 Jayasinghe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jayasinghe in America

Jayasinghe is the 68770th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jayasinghe surname appeared 286 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 Jayasinghe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jayasinghe 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 Jayasinghe

The surname JAYASINGHE is of Sri Lankan origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient Sinhalese language. It is a compound name formed by combining the words 'Jaya' meaning victory or triumph, and 'Singhe' meaning lion.

This name likely emerged during the reign of the ancient Sinhalese kingdoms that ruled over the island nation for centuries. The lion has long been a symbol of royalty and power in Sri Lankan culture, and names incorporating this motif were often bestowed upon members of the nobility or those who achieved great feats.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name JAYASINGHE dates back to the 15th century, when it appears in the Culavamsa, a historical chronicle of Sri Lanka written in Pali. This document mentions a prominent figure named Jayasinghe Bandara, who served as a military commander under the Kotte Kingdom in the late 1400s.

During the Portuguese colonial period in Sri Lanka, which began in the 16th century, the name JAYASINGHE is found in various records and manuscripts. One notable figure was Jayasinghe Mudaliyar, a chieftain who led resistance efforts against the Portuguese in the Kandyan Kingdom during the early 1600s.

In the 18th century, the name JAYASINGHE gained further prominence with the rise of the Nayakkar dynasty in the Kingdom of Kandy. One of the most celebrated figures from this period was King Kirthi Sri Rajasinha, who reigned from 1747 to 1782. His birth name was Jayasinghe Bandara, and he is remembered as a skilled military leader who successfully defended the kingdom against the Dutch and British.

Another prominent individual with the surname JAYASINGHE was Don Jayasinghe Amarasinha, a Sri Lankan poet and writer who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Sinhalese literature and is best known for his work "Kavyasekaraya," a collection of poetic compositions.

In more recent times, the name JAYASINGHE has been carried by several notable figures, including Ananda Jayasinghe (1912-1999), a renowned Sri Lankan sculptor and artist, and Anura Jayasinghe (1939-2008), a prominent film director and screenwriter who made significant contributions to Sri Lankan cinema.

Overall, the surname JAYASINGHE has a rich historical legacy, deeply rooted in the cultural and political traditions of Sri Lanka. It has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including royalty, military leaders, writers, artists, and more, reflecting the diverse contexts in which this name has been carried through the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jayasinghe

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

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

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