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

Palaniappan, 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 Palaniappan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Palaniappan in America

Palaniappan is the 54055th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Palaniappan surname appeared 382 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 Palaniappan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Palaniappan 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 Palaniappan

The surname Palaniappan is of Indian origin, specifically from the Tamil-speaking regions of South India. Its roots can be traced back several centuries to the ancient Tamil language.

The name Palaniappan is derived from the combination of two Tamil words, "Palani" and "appan." Palani is a reference to the sacred hill town of Palani in the state of Tamil Nadu, which is home to the revered Murugan Temple. The word "appan" is an honorific title meaning "father" or "respected elder."

Historically, the name Palaniappan was often given to individuals who hailed from the Palani region or had a strong devotion to Lord Murugan, the presiding deity of the Palani Temple. It was a way to honor their spiritual connection to this sacred site.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Palaniappan can be found in ancient Tamil literary works, such as the revered Sangam literature, which dates back to the first few centuries of the Common Era. The name also appears in various inscriptions and temple records from the medieval period.

One notable figure bearing the name Palaniappan was Palaniappan Chettiar, a prominent Indian businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1868 to 1928. He established several educational institutions and made significant contributions to the development of the city of Chennai (formerly known as Madras).

Another well-known individual with this surname was Palaniappan Chidambaram, an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the Union Minister of Finance and Union Minister of Home Affairs in the Government of India during the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

In the field of arts and literature, Palaniappan Nagarajan was a renowned Tamil writer and novelist who made significant contributions to modern Tamil literature. He was born in 1914 and passed away in 1998.

Palaniappan Renganaath Srinivasan, born in 1929, was a distinguished Indian physicist and Nobel Laureate. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999 for his groundbreaking work in the field of molecular biophysics.

Palaniappan Sathasivam, born in 1949, served as the Chief Justice of India from 2013 to 2014, making significant contributions to the Indian judiciary.

While the surname Palaniappan has its origins in the Tamil-speaking regions of South India, it has since spread across the globe due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots remain deeply intertwined with the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Palani region and the worship of Lord Murugan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Palaniappan

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

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

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

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