2000
#27,439
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 827
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Rare Last name
Vohra
An Indian surname of the Vaishya caste involved in trade and commerce.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,767 Americans carry the last name Vohra. That puts it at #17,878 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 193,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vohra 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 Vohra with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 193,975
Census rank
#17,878
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,541 bearers of the surname Vohra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17878th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vohra, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vohra
The surname Vohra is of Indian origin, specifically from the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. It is derived from the Sanskrit word 'vohra', which means a trader or merchant. The earliest known usage of the name can be traced back to the 12th century AD, during the reign of the Delhi Sultanate.
The Vohra community historically belonged to the Vaishya caste and were engaged in trade and commerce. They played a significant role in the silk and spice trade routes that connected India to Central Asia and the Middle East. The name is closely associated with the city of Firozpur, located in the Punjab region, where many Vohra families settled and established themselves as prosperous traders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vohra can be found in the chronicles of the Mughal Empire. In the 16th century, a prominent Vohra merchant named Mian Mir Vohra was a spiritual advisor and close confidant of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. He is credited with influencing the architectural design of the famous Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan.
During the British Raj in India, the Vohra community continued to thrive in trade and business. Notable figures from this period include Sir Ganga Ram Vohra (1851-1927), a civil engineer and philanthropist who founded the Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore, and Sir Sobha Singh Vohra (1876-1953), a prominent lawyer and judge.
In the 20th century, several individuals with the Vohra surname made significant contributions in various fields. Surjit Singh Vohra (1917-1994) was an eminent Indian diplomat and served as the Foreign Secretary of India from 1976 to 1979. Kapil Dev Vohra (1959-) is a former Indian cricketer and one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game.
While the Vohra surname is predominantly found in India, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities. Some notable individuals with this surname include Navneet Vohra (1979-), an American software engineer and entrepreneur, and Diljit Vohra, a British singer and songwriter of Indian descent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vohra
Among Census respondents with the surname Vohra, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Vohra 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 Vohra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.4% · 1,409
- White3.6% · 55
- Two or more races2.5% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 27
- Black or African American0.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vohra
Vohra 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
#21,068
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,247
+420 bearers (+50.8%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Up 6,371 places
2020
#17,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,541
+294 bearers (+23.6%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 3,190 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,439 | 827 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,068 | 1,247 | 0.42 | +420 bearers (+50.8%) | Up 6,371 places |
| 2020 | #17,878 | 1,541 | 0.52 | +294 bearers (+23.6%) | Up 3,190 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 Vohra 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 | #21,068 | #17,878 | 15.1% |
| Count | 1,247 | 1,541 | 23.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.52 | 22.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vohra bearers went from 1,247 to 1,541 (+23.6% change). The surname moved up 3,190 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,068 to #17,878.
FAQ
Vohra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vohra?
Name Census estimates that about 1,767 living Americans carry the surname Vohra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 193,975 residents.
How common is Vohra?
Vohra ranks #17,878 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.52 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 1,541 people with the surname Vohra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,767), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.52 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 Vohra.
Has Vohra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vohra went from 1,247 recorded bearers to 1,541. That is an increase of 294 (+23.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,068 to #17,878.
What does the Census say about the background of Vohra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vohra, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Vohra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (1,409 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vohra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (91.4%), White (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Vohra (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 Vohra mean?
An Indian surname of the Vaishya caste involved in trade and commerce. 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 Vohra (0.52 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 Americans have the surname Vohra?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.