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

Ranjit, 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 Ranjit surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ranjit in America

Ranjit is the 80926th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ranjit surname appeared 234 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 Ranjit.

The history of the last name Ranjit

The surname Ranjit is of Indian origin, specifically from the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "ranjita," which means "delighted" or "pleased." The name is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th century during the reign of the Rajput rulers in northern India.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ranjit can be found in the Brajbhasha poetry of medieval India, where it was used as a epithet for Lord Krishna. In the 16th century, the name gained prominence when Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire, came to power in Punjab.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) was a legendary Sikh ruler known for his military prowess and administrative skills. He united the scattered Sikh kingdoms and established a powerful empire that stretched from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej River in the east. His reign is considered a golden era in Sikh history.

Another notable figure with the surname Ranjit was Ranjit Malhotra (1931-2022), an Indian film producer and director who worked in Bollywood. He produced several successful films in the 1960s and 1970s, including "Ek Phool Do Mali" and "Dharmatma."

In literature, one can find references to the name Ranjit in the works of Punjabi writers and poets. For instance, the 20th-century Punjabi novelist Gurdial Singh featured characters with the surname Ranjit in his acclaimed novel "Adh Changi Raat."

The name Ranjit has also been associated with various place names in India, particularly in the Punjab region. For example, Ranjitgarh is a town in the Sangrur district of Punjab, and Ranjitpur is a village in the Kapurthala district of the same state.

Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the surname Ranjit, including Ranjit Barot (born 1970), an English drummer and composer known for his work with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain; and Ranjit Srivastava (born 1959), an Indian writer and journalist who has authored several novels and short story collections.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ranjit

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

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 Ranjit 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.

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

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

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