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

Kar, 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 Kar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kar in America

Kar is the 25403rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kar surname appeared 974 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 Kar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kar 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 Kar

The surname Kar has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, with its roots potentially traced back to ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit languages. The name is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "kara," which means "hand" or "tax collector." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with occupations related to manual labor or tax collection.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kar can be found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas, where it is mentioned as a caste or community name. These texts date back to several centuries BCE, indicating the antiquity of the name.

In medieval times, the Kar surname was prevalent among various Hindu communities, particularly in the northern and central regions of the Indian subcontinent. Some historical records from the Mughal era, spanning the 16th to 18th centuries, mention individuals with the Kar surname holding administrative positions or serving as scribes and record-keepers.

Notable individuals bearing the Kar surname include Govindram Sakharam Kar (1835-1913), a prominent Indian educationist and social reformer from Maharashtra. Another prominent figure was Nirmalkant Kar (1833-1889), a Bengali writer, journalist, and social activist who played a significant role in the Bengali Renaissance.

In the 19th century, the Kar surname was also found among scholars and intellectuals, such as Shyamacharan Kar (1835-1902), a renowned Bengali scholar and writer who contributed to the preservation of Bengali literature and culture.

The name Kar has also been associated with various place names in the Indian subcontinent, such as Karanjia, a town in the state of Odisha, and Karauli, a city in Rajasthan. These place names may have influenced the spelling and variations of the surname over time.

Other notable individuals with the Kar surname include Sardar Bahadur Har Narain Kar (1858-1939), an Indian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council, and Prabhudayal Kar (1889-1968), a noted Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from Uttar Pradesh.

It is worth mentioning that the surname Kar has also been found in other parts of the world, potentially due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its origins and historical significance can be primarily traced back to the Indian subcontinent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kar

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

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

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

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