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

Kiran, 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 Kiran surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kiran in America

Kiran is the 53419th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kiran surname appeared 387 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 Kiran.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kiran 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 Kiran

The surname KIRAN has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, where it is believed to have emerged as a variant of the Sanskrit word "Kiran," which means "ray" or "beam of light." This name is thought to have been adopted as a surname during the medieval period in India, particularly in regions like Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

In ancient Indian texts, such as the Vedas and Puranas, the word "Kiran" is often associated with the sun's rays and is used metaphorically to describe the radiance or the enlightened state of spiritual beings. It is possible that the surname KIRAN was originally bestowed upon individuals who were considered enlightened or radiant in their personalities or deeds.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname KIRAN can be found in the 16th-century Persian text "Akbarnama," which chronicles the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The text mentions a courtier named Kiran Devi, who served as a prominent figure in Akbar's court.

During the 17th century, the surname KIRAN gained prominence in the Sikh community, particularly among the warrior-saint tradition of the Akali Nihangs. Prominent figures from this era include Baba Kiran Singh (1619-1675), a revered Sikh warrior and spiritual leader, and Bhai Kiran Singh (1695-1775), a renowned poet and scholar.

In the 18th century, the KIRAN surname can be found in various historical records from the Maratha Empire, which ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent. One notable figure from this period is Kiran Rao (1750-1819), a respected military leader and strategist who served under the Peshwa rulers.

Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, the KIRAN surname gained further recognition through the works of renowned personalities such as Kiran Bedi (born 1949), the first female Indian Police Service officer and social activist; Kiran Nagarkar (1942-2019), a celebrated Indian novelist and playwright; and Kiran Desai (born 1971), the award-winning Indian-American author who received the Man Booker Prize for her novel "The Inheritance of Loss" in 2006.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kiran

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

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

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

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