2000
#31,958
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 682
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Rare Last name
Ramakrishnan
A surname of Hindu origin signifying devotion to the Hindu deity Lord Krishna.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,384 Americans carry the last name Ramakrishnan. That puts it at #13,896 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,773 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ramakrishnan 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 Ramakrishnan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 143,773
Census rank
#13,896
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,079 bearers of the surname Ramakrishnan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13896th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramakrishnan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ramakrishnan
The surname Ramakrishnan is of Indian origin, specifically from the Tamil language spoken in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is believed to have originated during the medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries CE.
The name Ramakrishnan is derived from the combination of two Sanskrit words, "Rama" and "Krishnan." Rama is one of the most revered deities in Hinduism and a central figure in the ancient Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Krishnan, on the other hand, is a name associated with Lord Krishna, another prominent deity in Hindu mythology.
The earliest known references to the name Ramakrishnan can be found in ancient Tamil literary works and inscriptions dating back to the Chola Dynasty, which ruled over parts of southern India between the 9th and 13th centuries CE. These inscriptions often recorded the names of individuals involved in various administrative, religious, and cultural activities of the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Ramakrishnan was Ramakrishnan Aiyar, a renowned Tamil scholar and poet who lived during the 14th century CE. His literary works, particularly his commentaries on ancient Tamil texts, are considered invaluable contributions to the preservation and promotion of Tamil literature and culture.
Another notable figure was Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), a revered Hindu mystic and spiritual teacher from Bengal, whose teachings and philosophies inspired the formation of the Ramakrishna Order and the Ramakrishna Mission, a worldwide spiritual organization. Although his surname was not Ramakrishnan, his influence on Hindu spirituality and his veneration among followers have made his name a significant part of Indian cultural history.
In the field of mathematics, Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920) was a self-taught mathematical genius from Tamil Nadu who made significant contributions to the theory of numbers, continued fractions, and infinite series. His collaboration with the English mathematician G.H. Hardy was instrumental in bringing his work to the forefront of mathematical research.
More recently, K.R. Narayanan (1920-2005), who served as the President of India from 1997 to 2002, had the surname Ramakrishnan. He was a distinguished diplomat and politician who played a key role in India's foreign policy and international relations during his career.
Throughout history, the surname Ramakrishnan has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, poets, mathematicians, and political leaders, reflecting the diverse and rich cultural heritage of India.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramakrishnan
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramakrishnan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Ramakrishnan 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 Ramakrishnan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.3% · 1,981
- White2.6% · 54
- Two or more races1.3% · 28
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ramakrishnan
Ramakrishnan 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
#19,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,389
+707 bearers (+103.7%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Up 12,502 places
2020
#13,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,079
+690 bearers (+49.7%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 5,560 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,958 | 682 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,456 | 1,389 | 0.47 | +707 bearers (+103.7%) | Up 12,502 places |
| 2020 | #13,896 | 2,079 | 0.70 | +690 bearers (+49.7%) | Up 5,560 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 Ramakrishnan 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 | #19,456 | #13,896 | 28.6% |
| Count | 1,389 | 2,079 | 49.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.70 | 48.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ramakrishnan bearers went from 1,389 to 2,079 (+49.7% change). The surname moved up 5,560 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,456 to #13,896.
FAQ
Ramakrishnan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ramakrishnan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,384 living Americans carry the surname Ramakrishnan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,773 residents.
How common is Ramakrishnan?
Ramakrishnan ranks #13,896 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,079 people with the surname Ramakrishnan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,384), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ramakrishnan.
Has Ramakrishnan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ramakrishnan went from 1,389 recorded bearers to 2,079. That is an increase of 690 (+49.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,456 to #13,896.
What does the Census say about the background of Ramakrishnan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramakrishnan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Ramakrishnan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (1,981 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ramakrishnan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (95.3%), White (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Ramakrishnan (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 Ramakrishnan mean?
A surname of Hindu origin signifying devotion to the Hindu deity Lord Krishna. 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 Ramakrishnan (0.70 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 people are called Ramakrishnan?
Find out how common the surname Ramakrishnan is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.