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

Nijjar, 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 Nijjar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nijjar in America

Nijjar is the 30202nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nijjar surname appeared 776 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 Nijjar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nijjar 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 Nijjar

The surname NIJJAR originated from the Punjab region of South Asia, specifically from the areas that are now part of modern-day India and Pakistan. The name can be traced back to the late 15th century, and it is believed to have derived from the old Punjabi word "nij," meaning "own" or "self," and "gar," meaning "house" or "home." Therefore, the name NIJJAR likely referred to someone who lived in their own house or was the head of their household.

One of the earliest known references to the name NIJJAR can be found in the Mughal Empire's revenue records from the late 16th century, where it was recorded as "Nijjar" or "Nijjer." During this period, the Nijjars were primarily involved in agriculture and land ownership in the Punjab region.

In the 18th century, the Nijjars played a significant role in the formation of the Sikh Empire under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Several notable figures from this era bore the surname NIJJAR, including Sardar Fateh Singh Nijjar (1760-1835), a prominent military commander and administrator, and Sardar Khem Singh Nijjar (1793-1842), a powerful nobleman and governor of the Multan province.

Another prominent individual with the surname NIJJAR was Sardar Bahadur Sardar Gurnam Singh Nijjar (1873-1953), who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Punjab and played an active role in the Indian independence movement.

In more recent times, the name NIJJAR has been associated with several accomplished individuals, such as Dr. Manjit Singh Nijjar (1942-2022), a renowned mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of differential equations, and Karminder Singh Nijjar (born 1974), a former professional cricketer who represented Canada in international cricket tournaments.

While the surname NIJJAR is primarily found in the Indian subcontinent, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. Notably, there are significant populations of Nijjars in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, among other countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nijjar

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

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

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

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