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

Murugesan, 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 Murugesan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Murugesan in America

Murugesan is the 51066th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Murugesan surname appeared 408 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 Murugesan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Murugesan 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 Murugesan

The surname Murugesan originated in India, specifically in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It can be traced back to the ancient Dravidian language of Tamil, which has a rich literary tradition dating back to the 3rd century BCE. The name Murugesan is derived from the Hindu deity Murugan, who is also known as Kartikeya or Subrahmanya, the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati.

The name Murugesan has its roots in the Tamil word "Murugan," which means "beautiful one" or "the handsome one." It is believed that the suffix "esan" was added to the name, denoting reverence or respect for the deity. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in ancient Tamil literature, such as the Sangam period works and the Puranas, which are Hindu religious texts.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Murugesan was Sri Murugesan, a renowned Tamil scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century CE. He is best known for his work "Murugan Arupathu," which is a collection of hymns dedicated to Lord Murugan. Another notable figure was Murugesan Pillai, a 17th-century Tamil poet and playwright who wrote several influential works, including the play "Nandanar Charithram."

In the 18th century, a prominent Murugesan was Murugesan Sastri, a scholar and author who wrote extensively on Tamil grammar and literature. His works, such as "Ilakkana Vilakkam" and "Nannul Urai," remain important references for Tamil scholars to this day. During the same period, Murugesan Mudaliar, a prominent merchant and philanthropist from Madras (now Chennai), made significant contributions to the city's development and supported various educational and cultural institutions.

In more recent times, Murugesan Sivaprakasam was a renowned Tamil writer and journalist who lived from 1880 to 1946. He was a prolific author, known for his novels, short stories, and essays, and was also a strong advocate for social reform and women's rights. Another notable figure was Murugesan Muthiah, a prominent industrialist and philanthropist from Tamil Nadu who lived from 1916 to 2008. He was instrumental in the growth of several industries in the state and was also a patron of arts, culture, and education.

The surname Murugesan continues to be prevalent in Tamil Nadu and among the Tamil diaspora around the world, reflecting the deep cultural and religious roots of this ancient name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Murugesan

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!