2000
#19,599
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,273
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.47
Rare Last name
Mukherjee
An Indian surname referring to a sweet maker, confectioner, or superintendent of the kitchen in the royal household.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,558 Americans carry the last name Mukherjee. That puts it at #7,993 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 75,198 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mukherjee surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mukherjee with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 75,198
Census rank
#7,993
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,975 bearers of the surname Mukherjee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7993rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mukherjee, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mukherjee
The surname Mukherjee is of Indian origin, specifically from the Bengal region of eastern India. It dates back several centuries and is derived from the Sanskrit words 'mukha' meaning 'face' and 'rij' meaning 'bright' or 'shining'. Thus, the name Mukherjee originally referred to someone with a bright or radiant face.
The name is believed to have originated among the Brahmin caste in Bengal, who were traditionally scholars, priests, and teachers. The earliest known records of the name Mukherjee can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and manuscripts dating back to the 12th century AD.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the surname Mukherjee was Gauranga Mukherjee, a renowned Bengali poet and philosopher who lived in the 16th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Raja Ram Mohan Roy Mukherjee (1772-1833), a pioneering social reformer and a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Mukherjee name gained prominence among the educated elite of Bengal. Prominent Mukherjees from this period include Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Mukherjee (1820-1891), a scholar, writer, and social reformer, and Rabindranath Tagore Mukherjee (1861-1941), the renowned poet, novelist, and the first non-European Nobel laureate in literature.
Other notable Mukherjees throughout history include Bidhubhushan Mukherjee (1888-1975), a renowned writer and literary critic, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901-1953), a prominent politician and the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a precursor to the modern-day Bharatiya Janata Party.
The name Mukherjee has also been associated with various place names in Bengal, such as Mukherjeepara and Mukherjeenagar, which were likely named after individuals or families with the surname Mukherjee.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mukherjee
Among Census respondents with the surname Mukherjee, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mukherjee bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mukherjee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.7% · 3,645
- White3.9% · 154
- Two or more races3.2% · 126
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 34
- Black or African American0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mukherjee
Mukherjee appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,536
+1,263 bearers (+99.2%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 7,335 places
2020
#7,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,975
+1,439 bearers (+56.7%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Up 4,271 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,599 | 1,273 | 0.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,264 | 2,536 | 0.86 | +1,263 bearers (+99.2%) | Up 7,335 places |
| 2020 | #7,993 | 3,975 | 1.33 | +1,439 bearers (+56.7%) | Up 4,271 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mukherjee surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,264 | #7,993 | 34.8% |
| Count | 2,536 | 3,975 | 56.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 1.33 | 54.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mukherjee bearers went from 2,536 to 3,975 (+56.7% change). The surname moved up 4,271 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,264 to #7,993.
FAQ
Mukherjee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mukherjee?
Name Census estimates that about 4,558 living Americans carry the surname Mukherjee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 75,198 residents.
How common is Mukherjee?
Mukherjee ranks #7,993 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,975 people with the surname Mukherjee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mukherjee.
Has Mukherjee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mukherjee went from 2,536 recorded bearers to 3,975. That is an increase of 1,439 (+56.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,264 to #7,993.
What does the Census say about the background of Mukherjee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mukherjee, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mukherjee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (3,645 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mukherjee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (91.7%), White (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mukherjee (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mukherjee mean?
An Indian surname referring to a sweet maker, confectioner, or superintendent of the kitchen in the royal household. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mukherjee (1.33 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Mukherjee?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.