2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Saroop
A surname of Indian origin meaning one's appearance, form or image.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Saroop. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saroop 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Saroop in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saroop, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (16.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saroop
The surname Saroop is of Indian origin, specifically from the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have emerged in the 16th or 17th century. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "swaroop," which means "form" or "shape." It is a compound word formed by combining "swa" (meaning "own") and "roop" (meaning "form" or "appearance").
In ancient Indian texts, the term "saroop" was often used to describe the true form or essence of something, particularly in spiritual or philosophical contexts. It was commonly associated with the concept of divinity or the manifestation of the divine in physical or tangible form.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Saroop can be found in the Mughal Empire's administrative records from the 17th century. During this period, the name was primarily used by Hindu families living in the Punjab region, which was then under Mughal rule.
Notable historical figures bearing the surname Saroop include Saroop Singh Kaushish (1837-1915), a prominent Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British rule. Another significant figure was Saroop Rani (1688-1753), a powerful female ruler who governed the princely state of Mandi in present-day Himachal Pradesh.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Saroop surname was also found among wealthy landowners and merchants in the Punjab region. One example is Saroop Singh (1783-1854), a prominent landlord and philanthropist who founded several educational institutions in Amritsar.
Other notable individuals with the surname Saroop include Saroop Rani Begum (1809-1842), a renowned courtesan and poet who lived during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II, and Saroop Singh (1885-1967), a respected scholar and writer who authored several works on Sikhism and Punjabi literature.
While the surname Saroop is not as widespread as some other Indian surnames, it continues to be associated with families of Punjabi descent, particularly those with roots in the regions of Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saroop
Among Census respondents with the surname Saroop, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (16.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Saroop 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 Saroop surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander48.3% · 57
- Black or African American28.0% · 33
- Two or more races16.1% · 19
- White4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saroop
Saroop 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
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+15 bearers (+14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,723 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.6%) | Up 13,723 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 Saroop 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 | #157,234 | #143,511 | 8.7% |
| Count | 103 | 118 | 14.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 31.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saroop bearers went from 103 to 118 (+14.6% change). The surname moved up 13,723 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #143,511.
FAQ
Saroop surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saroop?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Saroop. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Saroop?
Saroop ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Saroop. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Saroop.
Has Saroop become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saroop went from 103 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 15 (+14.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Saroop?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saroop, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (16.1%). 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 Saroop in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (57 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saroop appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (48.3%), Black (28.0%), Two or More Races (16.1%). 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 Saroop (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 Saroop mean?
A surname of Indian origin meaning one's appearance, form or image. 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 Saroop (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 Saroop?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.