2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Padda
A surname of Indian origin referring to someone who grew paddy or rice crops.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 474 Americans carry the last name Padda. That puts it at #53,969 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 723,110 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Padda 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 Padda with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
474
1 in 723,110
Census rank
#53,969
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
413
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 413 bearers of the surname Padda in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53969th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Padda, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and White (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Padda
The surname PADDA is of Indian origin, specifically from the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have originated during the medieval period, around the 10th to 12th centuries CE.
The name PADDA is derived from the Sanskrit word "pada," which means "foot" or "footstep." It is thought to have been initially used as a nickname or a descriptive name for someone who had a distinctive way of walking or a physical characteristic related to their feet.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PADDA can be found in the Panjabi Khushwant Singh's novel "Train to Pakistan," published in 1956, where a character named Lala Padda is mentioned. The novel is set during the time of the Partition of India in 1947.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Bhai Padda is mentioned in Sikh historical records as a devoted follower of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith. Bhai Padda is said to have played a significant role in the early Sikh community.
During the Mughal Empire period in the 16th and 17th centuries, the name PADDA appears in several administrative records and land ownership documents from the Punjab region, indicating that families with this surname held influential positions and owned property.
Another notable individual with the surname PADDA was Jaswant Singh Padda (1923-2014), an Indian politician and freedom fighter who participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. He served as a member of the Indian Parliament and held various ministerial positions.
In the literary world, Sukhpal Singh Padda (1941-2017) was a renowned Punjabi poet and writer who received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995 for his contribution to Punjabi literature.
The name PADDA has also been associated with several Sikh military leaders and warriors from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Sardar Budh Singh Padda and Sardar Ranjit Singh Padda, who played important roles in the Sikh Empire and the battles against the Afghan and Mughal rulers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Padda
Among Census respondents with the surname Padda, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and White (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Padda 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 Padda surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.4% · 390
- Two or more races2.9% · 12
- White1.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Padda
Padda 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
#65,066
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 305
+191 bearers (+167.5%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Up 70,771 places
2020
#53,969
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 413
+108 bearers (+35.4%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 11,097 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #65,066 | 305 | 0.10 | +191 bearers (+167.5%) | Up 70,771 places |
| 2020 | #53,969 | 413 | 0.14 | +108 bearers (+35.4%) | Up 11,097 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 Padda 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 | #65,066 | #53,969 | 17.1% |
| Count | 305 | 413 | 35.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.14 | 38.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Padda bearers went from 305 to 413 (+35.4% change). The surname moved up 11,097 positions in the national ranking, going from #65,066 to #53,969.
FAQ
Padda surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Padda?
Name Census estimates that about 474 living Americans carry the surname Padda. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 723,110 residents.
How common is Padda?
Padda ranks #53,969 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 413 people with the surname Padda. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (474), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Padda.
Has Padda become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Padda went from 305 recorded bearers to 413. That is an increase of 108 (+35.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #65,066 to #53,969.
What does the Census say about the background of Padda?
Among Census respondents with the surname Padda, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and White (1.0%). 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 Padda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (390 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Padda appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%), White (1.0%). 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 Padda (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 Padda mean?
A surname of Indian origin referring to someone who grew paddy or rice crops. 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 Padda (0.14 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 Padda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.