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

Kesavan, 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 Kesavan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kesavan in America

Kesavan is the 77522nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kesavan surname appeared 247 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 Kesavan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kesavan 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 Kesavan

The surname KESAVAN originates from India, specifically from the Tamil-speaking regions of the country. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th or 6th century AD, during the early medieval period of South Indian history.

KESAVAN is derived from the Tamil word "Kesu," which means "hair" or "mane." It is likely that the name was initially given as a descriptive nickname to individuals with distinctive hair or mane-like features. The suffix "van" is a common Tamil honorific, indicating respect or denoting a person of prominence.

While there are no definitive historical records or manuscripts mentioning the name KESAVAN from ancient times, it is widely accepted that the name has its roots in the Dravidian linguistic and cultural traditions of southern India.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KESAVAN can be found in the 12th century CE, where a Tamil poet and scholar named Kesavan Vātsiyar (1098-1182) is mentioned in literary works of that era. He was a renowned commentator on the Tamil grammar text "Nannul" and is considered a significant figure in the development of Tamil literature and linguistics.

Another notable figure with the surname KESAVAN was Kesavan Nair (1886-1957), an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from the state of Kerala. He played a prominent role in the Indian independence movement and was actively involved in the campaigns led by the Indian National Congress.

In the literary realm, Kesavan Venkitasubramanian (1932-2008) was a renowned Tamil writer and novelist from Tamil Nadu. He was the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Tamil Nadu Government's Kalaimamani Award, for his contributions to Tamil literature.

Kesavan Veluthat (1943-2021) was a distinguished historian and academic from Kerala, known for his extensive research on the social and cultural history of South India, particularly the Travancore region.

Another individual of note was Kesavan Balakrishnan (1923-2011), a prominent Indian economist and statistician who served as the chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute and made significant contributions to the field of development economics.

While the surname KESAVAN has its origins in South India, it has since spread to other parts of the country and can be found among Indian communities around the world today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kesavan

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

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

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

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