Sihota last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sihota

A Punjabi surname derived from the name of a village in India.

Sihota, 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 Sihota surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sihota in America

Sihota is the 105600th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sihota surname appeared 169 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 Sihota.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sihota 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 105600 127186 -18.55%
Count 169 124 30.72%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.05 18.18%

The history of the last name Sihota

The surname Sihota has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the northwestern region of Punjab. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'sihota,' which means 'a small fort' or 'a fortified place.' The name likely originated during the medieval period, when various clans and families established their strongholds and fortified settlements in the region.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Sihota can be found in the historical accounts of the Mughal Empire. During the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556-1605), a notable figure named Sihota Khan was mentioned as a commander in the Mughal army, responsible for defending strategic forts and outposts in the Punjab region.

In the 18th century, the Sihota surname appeared in various land records and tax registers maintained by the Sikh Empire under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). These records indicated that members of the Sihota family held significant landholdings and played influential roles in the local administration and military affairs.

One of the most prominent individuals with the Sihota surname was Sardar Sham Singh Sihota (1827-1898), a renowned military leader and statesman who served as the Governor of Multan and played a crucial role in the Anglo-Sikh Wars of the mid-19th century.

Another notable figure was Bishan Singh Sihota (1874-1946), a renowned scholar and educationist who established several schools and institutions in the Punjab region, contributing significantly to the promotion of education and literacy.

In more recent history, Sardar Kapur Singh Sihota (1901-1977) was a distinguished politician and member of the Constituent Assembly of India, actively involved in shaping the country's constitution and advocating for the rights of minority communities.

Internationally, one of the most well-known individuals with the Sihota surname was Jagjit Singh Sihota (1935-2015), a celebrated Punjabi folk singer and musician who received numerous accolades for his contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Punjabi music.

Historically, the Sihota surname has been associated with a strong military and administrative presence in the Punjab region, reflecting the family's roots as defenders of fortified settlements and a legacy of leadership and service.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sihota

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

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 Sihota was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 5.33% 9
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 92.31% 156
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Sihota has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 5.33% 8.06% -40.78%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 92.31% 86.29% 6.74%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Sihota last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sihota-surname-popularity/.

"Sihota last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sihota-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Sihota last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sihota-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.