Explore the Family Name Datta
The meaning of Datta
Indian (Assam, West Bengal, and Punjab) and Bangladeshi: from Sanskrit datta ‘given, gift’. In Sanskrit literature this name is associated with the Vaishya caste. In Assam and West Bengal the Dattas belong to the Kayastha caste. In the Punjab it is the name of a clan in the Mohyal subgroup of Saraswat Brahmins, having probably evolved from an ancestral personal name. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Sanjay, Anuradha, Kaushik, Anil, Anindya, Arun, Asim, Babul, Biswa, Dilip, Indrani, Krishna.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Datta in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Datta has seen a considerable increase between 2000 and 2010. In terms of rank, it shot up from being the 20,599th most popular surname in 2000 to the 16,012th in 2010, marking an improvement of 22.27%. There was also a significant rise in the count of people with this surname, which went up by 51.72% from 1,195 in 2000 to 1,813 in 2010. This growth is reflected in the proportion per 100,000 people, which increased by 38.64% during these years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #20,599 | #16,012 | 22.27% |
| Count | 1,195 | 1,813 | 51.72% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.44 | 0.61 | 38.64% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Datta
The ethnicity breakdown associated with the surname Datta reveals some shifts over the 2000-2010 period, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2010, the majority of individuals with the Datta surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, accounting for 84.83% up from 81.26% in 2000, marking an increase of 4.39%. The proportion identifying as White remained fairly stable, decreasing slightly by 2.96% from 10.46% to 10.15%. However, those who identified as having two or more ethnic identities saw a sizable decrease of 42.55%, dipping from 6.44% in 2000 to 3.70% in 2010. Other ethnicities such as Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native represented less than 1% each of the total.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 81.26% | 84.83% | 4.39% |
| White | 10.46% | 10.15% | -2.96% |
| Two or More Races | 6.44% | 3.7% | -42.55% |
| Hispanic | 0.59% | 0.61% | 3.39% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.84% | 0.44% | -47.62% |
| Black | 0.42% | 0.28% | -33.33% |