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

Poola, 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 Poola surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Poola in America

Poola is the 122314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Poola surname appeared 141 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 Poola.

We can also compare 2010 data for Poola 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 Poola

The surname POOLA is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, likely in the southern regions of present-day India or Sri Lanka. Its roots can be traced back to the ancient Dravidian languages, where the word "poola" or "pula" is thought to have meant "flower" or "blossom."

In the early medieval period, the name POOLA was predominantly found among the Tamil and Telugu-speaking communities of southern India and Sri Lanka. It is possible that the name was initially adopted as a descriptive surname, referring to individuals who were associated with the cultivation or trade of flowers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name POOLA can be found in the inscriptions of the Chola Empire, which ruled over parts of southern India between the 9th and 13th centuries. These inscriptions often mention individuals bearing the surname POOLA, indicating its widespread use among the local populace during that time.

As the Indian diaspora spread across the globe, the surname POOLA traveled with them. In the 16th and 17th centuries, records from the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) mention individuals with the surname POOLA, suggesting that Tamil and Telugu communities had established themselves in the region.

Notable individuals bearing the surname POOLA include:

1. Munusamy Poola (1924-2001), an Indian politician and former member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
2. Ranjit Poola (born 1953), an Indian-American author and entrepreneur.
3. K. Poola Venkata Rao (1904-1986), an Indian freedom fighter and politician from Andhra Pradesh.
4. Lekshmi Poola (born 1991), an Indian actress and model known for her work in Malayalam and Tamil films.
5. Raghava Poola (fl. 14th century), a medieval Telugu poet and scholar known for his works on grammar and poetics.

While the name POOLA has its origins in southern India, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by Tamil and Telugu diaspora communities. Its ancient roots in the Dravidian languages serve as a testament to the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Poola

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

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

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

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