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

Karma, 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 Karma surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Karma in America

Karma is the 145220th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Karma surname appeared 114 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 Karma.

The history of the last name Karma

The surname Karma is of Indian origin, derived from the Sanskrit word "karma" which means "action" or "deed." It is believed to have originated in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, where the concept of karma is central to their philosophies.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Karma can be traced back to the ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, where the word "karma" is frequently mentioned. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact time when the word began to be used as a surname.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Karma was Adi Shankara, a renowned Hindu philosopher and theologian who lived in the 8th century CE. He is widely regarded as the founder of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy and was a proponent of the concept of karma.

Another notable figure with the surname Karma was Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk and philosopher who lived in the 19th century. He played a significant role in introducing Hinduism and the concept of karma to the Western world through his speeches and writings.

In the field of literature, Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Prize-winning poet and writer from Bengal, India, was born with the surname Karma in 1861. His works often explored the themes of spirituality and the human experience, reflecting the influence of the concept of karma.

Moving to the realm of politics, Karma Nabulsi is a prominent Palestinian academic and activist who has written extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and issues of human rights. She was born in 1951 and is currently a professor at the University of Oxford.

Lastly, Karma Lhatso, born in 1929, was a Tibetan Buddhist monk and scholar who played a significant role in preserving and promoting Tibetan culture and Buddhism. He served as the abbot of several prominent monasteries in Tibet and India and was recognized for his contributions to Buddhist studies.

It is important to note that while the surname Karma is predominantly found in India and among individuals of Indian descent, it has also been adopted by people of other nationalities who have embraced the philosophical and spiritual concepts associated with the word.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Karma

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

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 Karma 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.

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

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

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