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

Mitra, 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 Mitra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mitra in America

Mitra is the 15066th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mitra surname appeared 1,958 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mitra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mitra 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 Mitra

The surname Mitra has its origins in India, with the earliest known references dating back to the Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "mitra," which means "friend" or "ally." The name is associated with the Mitra clan or gotra, which was prominent in the ancient Indian society.

In Hindu mythology, Mitra is also the name of a Vedic deity, the god of friendship, contracts, and oaths. The name is mentioned in various ancient Indian texts, including the Rigveda, one of the oldest Hindu scriptures.

The Mitra surname is found predominantly among Hindu Brahmin communities, particularly in the states of West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam in eastern India. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to inscriptions and manuscripts from the 5th to 7th centuries CE.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Mitra was Haraprasad Mitra, a Bengali scholar and linguist who lived in the 19th century (1809-1864). He made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit literature and grammar.

Another notable figure was Rajendralala Mitra (1824-1891), a renowned Bengali scholar, antiquarian, and writer. He was a pioneer in the field of Indian archaeology and contributed greatly to the preservation of ancient Indian manuscripts and artifacts.

In the field of literature, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the Nobel Prize-winning Bengali poet and philosopher, had a close friend and collaborator named Ramananda Mitra, who was also a writer and translator.

Mitra Subhash Chandra Bose (1897-1945), an Indian nationalist and revolutionary leader, is another important figure with the surname. He played a crucial role in India's struggle for independence from British rule.

Lastly, Hirendra Nath Mitra (1881-1956) was a prominent Indian mathematician and physicist, known for his contributions to the study of differential geometry and tensor analysis.

Overall, the surname Mitra has a rich history and cultural significance in India, particularly in the eastern regions, and has been associated with scholars, writers, and intellectuals throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mitra

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

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

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

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