2000
#20,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,206
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Saxena
A surname of Indian origin referring to someone from the Sakya clan or who is a descendant of Bharata.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,324 Americans carry the last name Saxena. That puts it at #8,413 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,268 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saxena 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 Saxena with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,268
Census rank
#8,413
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,771 bearers of the surname Saxena in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8413th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saxena, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saxena
The surname Saxena originates from the Indian subcontinent, specifically from the northern regions of India. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "Saksena," which means "a person from the region of Sakas or Scythians." The Sakas were an ancient Iranian nomadic group that settled in parts of northern India around the 2nd century BCE.
The name Saxena can be traced back to the medieval period in India, where it was commonly found among Brahmin communities in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Some historical records suggest that the name was also present in parts of present-day Punjab and Haryana, indicating the migration and settlement of Saxena families in these regions.
One of the earliest known references to the name Saxena can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The text mentions several individuals with the surname Saxena who held prominent positions in the Mughal administration.
The Saxena surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. Maharishi Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883), the founder of the Arya Samaj Hindu reform movement, was born into a Saxena family. Another eminent person was Pandit Satyendra Nath Saxena (1888-1958), a renowned Indian historian and Sanskrit scholar.
In the field of literature, Braj Bhushan Saxena (1917-2005) was a celebrated Hindi poet and writer who received the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors. Sachchidanand Hiranand Vatsyayan Agyeya (1911-1987), a pioneer of modern Hindi poetry and criticism, also hailed from a Saxena family.
The name Saxena has also been associated with the Indian freedom struggle against British colonial rule. Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla Saxena (1892-1945) was a prominent freedom fighter and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, who played a crucial role in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
While the surname Saxena has its roots in northern India, it has since spread to other parts of the country and the world due to migration and diaspora. However, the historical origins and significance of this name remain deeply rooted in the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Indian subcontinent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saxena
Among Census respondents with the surname Saxena, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Saxena 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 Saxena surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.5% · 3,524
- White3.2% · 120
- Two or more races2.2% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 26
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saxena
Saxena 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
#13,338
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,286
+1,080 bearers (+89.6%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 7,118 places
2020
#8,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,771
+1,485 bearers (+65.0%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Up 4,925 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,456 | 1,206 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,338 | 2,286 | 0.77 | +1,080 bearers (+89.6%) | Up 7,118 places |
| 2020 | #8,413 | 3,771 | 1.26 | +1,485 bearers (+65.0%) | Up 4,925 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 Saxena 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 | #13,338 | #8,413 | 36.9% |
| Count | 2,286 | 3,771 | 65.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 1.26 | 63.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saxena bearers went from 2,286 to 3,771 (+65.0% change). The surname moved up 4,925 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,338 to #8,413.
FAQ
Saxena surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saxena?
Name Census estimates that about 4,324 living Americans carry the surname Saxena. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,268 residents.
How common is Saxena?
Saxena ranks #8,413 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 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 3,771 people with the surname Saxena. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,324), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 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 Saxena.
Has Saxena become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saxena went from 2,286 recorded bearers to 3,771. That is an increase of 1,485 (+65.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,338 to #8,413.
What does the Census say about the background of Saxena?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saxena, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Saxena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (3,524 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saxena appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (93.5%), White (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Saxena (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 Saxena mean?
A surname of Indian origin referring to someone from the Sakya clan or who is a descendant of Bharata. 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 Saxena (1.26 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 Saxena?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.