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

Setty, 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 Setty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Setty in America

Setty is the 32676th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Setty surname appeared 703 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 Setty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Setty 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 Setty

The surname Setty is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the southern regions of modern-day India and Sri Lanka. It is thought to be derived from the Tamil word "Chetty," which refers to a merchant or trading caste.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Setty can be found in the 15th century, when it was mentioned in various historical records and manuscripts from the Vijayanagar Empire, a powerful Hindu kingdom that ruled over much of southern India during that time period.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Setty surname was particularly prevalent among the mercantile communities of the Coromandel Coast, a region along the southeastern coast of India that was a hub for maritime trade and commerce. Many Setty families were involved in the lucrative trade of spices, textiles, and other goods with European traders and merchants.

One notable figure from this era was Vijaya Setti, a wealthy merchant from the city of Masulipatnam (now known as Machilipatnam) who lived in the late 16th century. He is said to have established trade relations with the Portuguese and Dutch East India companies, and his name is mentioned in several contemporary accounts and records.

In the 18th century, the Setty name began to spread beyond the Indian subcontinent as members of the community migrated to other parts of the world, particularly Southeast Asia and the British colonies in the Caribbean and Africa. One prominent individual from this period was Narayan Setty, a Sri Lankan merchant and philanthropist who lived from 1756 to 1832 and was instrumental in establishing several Hindu temples and educational institutions in British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Another notable figure was Raman Setty, a wealthy Indian businessman born in 1824 who made his fortune in the textile trade and became a prominent philanthropist and patron of the arts in Madras (now Chennai).

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Setty surname continued to be associated with business and commerce, with many families maintaining their mercantile traditions and establishing successful businesses across Asia and beyond. One such individual was Sir Annamalai Chettiar Setty (1857-1948), a prominent Indian banker and industrialist who founded the Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu.

Overall, the surname Setty has a rich and diverse history, spanning centuries and continents, and is inextricably linked to the mercantile and trading communities of southern India and their global diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Setty

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

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

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

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