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

Sahni, 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 Sahni surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sahni in America

Sahni is the 30303rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sahni surname appeared 772 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 Sahni.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sahni 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 Sahni

The surname Sahni is of Indian origin, originating from the Sanskrit language and the word 'sahana' which means 'tolerance' or 'endurance'. It is primarily found in the northern regions of India, particularly in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

The earliest recorded instances of the Sahni surname can be traced back to the 12th century CE, during the reign of the Delhi Sultanate. It is believed that the name was initially adopted by members of the Khatri community, a prominent trading and merchant caste in the region.

One of the earliest known references to the Sahni name is found in the 14th century Sanskrit text, the 'Prithviraj Raso', which mentions a nobleman named Sahni who served under the legendary Rajput ruler, Prithviraj Chauhan.

During the Mughal era, the Sahni family played a significant role in the administration and trade activities of the empire. In the 16th century, Mahesh Das Sahni, a renowned trader and merchant, established a thriving business empire that spanned across the Indian subcontinent.

The Sahni name is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. In the 18th century, Khushi Ram Sahni (1725-1805) was a prominent Sikh military commander who served under the legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Pandit Shri Ram Sahni (1884-1963) was a renowned Indian historian and archaeologist who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Indian history and culture.

Another notable figure with the Sahni surname is Dr. Jayant Narlikar (born 1938), an acclaimed Indian astrophysicist and cosmologist who has made groundbreaking contributions to the field of general relativity and cosmology.

In more recent times, the Sahni name has also been associated with literary figures. Bhisham Sahni (1915-2003) was a celebrated Indian author and playwright who wrote extensively on social and political themes in Hindi literature.

While the Sahni surname has its roots in the northern regions of India, it has since spread to other parts of the country and even to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sahni

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

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

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

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