2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Samlall
A Hindu surname meaning "good lottery ticket" or "good fortune".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Samlall. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Samlall 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.
Bearers in the US
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Samlall in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Samlall, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and White (15.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Samlall
The surname SAMLALL has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the northern regions of India and Pakistan. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 10th to 12th centuries. The name is derived from the Sanskrit words "sam" meaning "equal" or "alike," and "lal" meaning "beloved" or "dear." Together, the name SAMLALL may have been used to refer to someone who was equally beloved or held in high regard by multiple individuals or communities.
Early records mentioning the name SAMLALL can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and historical texts from the region. One notable reference is in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, which lists individuals with the surname SAMLALL among the nobility and landowners of the time.
The earliest known bearer of the name SAMLALL was Samvat Samlall, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in the 11th century in the city of Varanasi, known then as Kashi. His works, which included treatises on philosophy and poetry, are still studied and revered in academic circles.
Another notable figure was Shyam Samlall, a warrior and military commander who served under the Rajput ruler Rana Sanga during the 16th century. He is said to have played a pivotal role in the historic Battle of Khanua, where the Rajput forces clashed with the invading army of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire.
In the 18th century, the name SAMLALL was associated with the Maratha Empire, a prominent Hindu kingdom that ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent. Balaji Samlall, a respected statesman and advisor, served as a minister under the Maratha ruler Shahu I and was instrumental in shaping the empire's administrative policies.
During the British colonial era, the SAMLALL name gained recognition through individuals like Govind Samlall, a renowned educator and social reformer who established several schools and advocated for women's education in the late 19th century.
Other notable bearers of the SAMLALL name throughout history include Ravi Samlall, a celebrated classical musician who popularized the sarod, a stringed instrument, in the 20th century, and Jyoti Samlall, a pioneering female environmentalist and conservationist who worked tirelessly to protect the forests and wildlife of the Himalayas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samlall
Among Census respondents with the surname Samlall, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and White (15.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Samlall 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 Samlall surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.5% · 61
- Black or African American17.0% · 18
- White15.1% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 7
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Samlall
Samlall appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-12 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,199 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 11,199 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 Samlall 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 | #141,140 | #152,339 | -7.9% |
| Count | 118 | 106 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Samlall bearers went from 118 to 106 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 11,199 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #152,339.
FAQ
Samlall surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Samlall?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Samlall. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Samlall?
Samlall ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Samlall. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Samlall.
Has Samlall become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Samlall went from 118 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Samlall?
Among Census respondents with the surname Samlall, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and White (15.1%). 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 Samlall in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.5% (61 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Samlall appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (57.5%), Black (17.0%), White (15.1%). 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 Samlall (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 Samlall mean?
A Hindu surname meaning "good lottery ticket" or "good fortune". 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 Samlall (0.04 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 have the surname Samlall?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.