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

Vaidya, 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 Vaidya surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vaidya in America

Vaidya is the 16848th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vaidya surname appeared 1,694 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Vaidya.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vaidya 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 Vaidya

The surname Vaidya has its origins in India and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'vaidya,' which means a physician or a doctor. The name was initially used to denote those who practiced Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional system of medicine that has been prevalent in India for thousands of years.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Vaidya can be found in various Hindu scriptures and ancient texts, where it was used to refer to individuals who were renowned for their expertise in Ayurvedic healing practices. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in the Atharva Veda, one of the four Vedas, which dates back to around 1000 BCE.

During the medieval period, the Vaidya surname became more widespread across the Indian subcontinent. Several historical accounts and records mention individuals bearing this surname, particularly in regions where Ayurvedic medicine had a strong presence. For instance, the Vaidya family of Varanasi, a renowned center of learning and culture, is believed to have had a long lineage of Ayurvedic practitioners dating back to the 12th century.

Some notable individuals with the surname Vaidya throughout history include Narahari Vaidya (1543-1624), a renowned Ayurvedic physician and scholar who authored several influential texts on the subject. Bapalal Vaidya (1848-1919) was a prominent social reformer and educationist who played a significant role in promoting female education in India. Ramakrishna Vaidya (1850-1920) was a pioneering photographer and one of the first individuals to establish a commercial photography studio in India.

In more recent times, Karan Vaidya (1911-1987) was a distinguished Indian archaeologist and historian who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Indian history and culture. Manindra Vaidya (born 1969) is a renowned computer scientist and mathematician, known for his groundbreaking work in computational complexity theory.

While the surname Vaidya is predominantly found in India, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Indian tradition of Ayurvedic medicine and the esteemed status accorded to those who practiced this healing art.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vaidya

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

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

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

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