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

Punjabi, 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 Punjabi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Punjabi in America

Punjabi is the 52851st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Punjabi surname appeared 392 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 Punjabi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Punjabi 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 Punjabi

The surname Punjabi originates from the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, which is divided between modern-day India and Pakistan. The name likely emerged during the 16th century, when the Mughal Empire ruled over this area.

Punjabi is derived from the Persian word "Punjab," which means "five waters" or "land of five rivers." This refers to the five major rivers that flow through the region: the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. The name was likely given to people who lived in or were associated with this fertile and strategically important region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Punjabi can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a detailed document compiled during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605). This work contained records of the empire's administrative divisions, including the names of local officials and landowners.

During the 18th century, the Punjabi surname appeared in various manuscripts and records kept by the Sikh Empire, which ruled over the region until the mid-19th century. Notable individuals with this surname from that period include Jassa Singh Punjabi (1718-1805), a prominent Sikh warrior and leader, and Gurbakhsh Singh Punjabi (1770-1848), a renowned Sikh scholar and poet.

In the 19th century, as the British East India Company gained control over the Punjab region, the Punjabi surname began appearing in colonial records and documents. One notable figure was Chaudhri Rehmat Ali Punjabi (1897-1951), a political activist and author who coined the term "Pakistan" in a pamphlet published in 1933.

Other historical figures with the Punjabi surname include Khushwant Singh Punjabi (1915-2014), a renowned Indian writer and journalist, and Bhupinder Singh Punjabi (1934-2012), an Indian actor and theater director who worked in both Hindi and Punjabi cinema.

The surname Punjabi has also been associated with several place names and older spellings of those names, such as Punjabian, Panjabi, and Panjabee, which reflect various regional dialects and linguistic influences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Punjabi

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

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

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

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