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

Pillay, 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 Pillay surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pillay in America

Pillay is the 39419th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pillay surname appeared 558 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 Pillay.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pillay 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 Pillay

The surname Pillay originates from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Tamil word "pillai," which means "child" or "son." This name was commonly used as an honorific title for young men from respectable families.

In the early days, the Pillay surname was predominantly found among the Tamil Brahmin community, which was considered the highest caste in the Hindu social hierarchy. The name was often associated with priestly or scholarly professions.

One of the earliest known references to the Pillay surname can be found in the inscriptions and records of the Vijayanagar Empire, which ruled a significant portion of southern India between the 14th and 17th centuries. Several prominent individuals with the Pillay surname held influential positions within the empire's administration and religious institutions.

Among the notable figures in history bearing the Pillay surname is Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), a renowned composer and music theorist who made significant contributions to the Carnatic music tradition. Another notable individual is Sir Annamalai Chettiar Ramasamy Mudaliar Pillay (1823-1909), a prominent businessman and philanthropist who played a crucial role in the development of education and infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.

In the 18th century, the Pillay surname began to spread beyond the confines of the Brahmin community as it was adopted by other communities in Tamil Nadu. This was partly due to the influence of the British East India Company, which encouraged the use of surnames for administrative purposes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pillay surname outside of Tamil Nadu can be found in the records of the British East India Company, where individuals with this name were employed as interpreters, clerks, and intermediaries.

Another notable figure with the Pillay surname is Vellupillai Prabhakaran (1954-2009), the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organization that fought for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka.

It is worth mentioning that while the Pillay surname has its roots in Tamil Nadu, it has since spread to other parts of India and beyond, carried by individuals who migrated or were part of the Tamil diaspora. Today, the Pillay surname can be found among Tamil communities worldwide.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pillay

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

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

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

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