Explore the Family Name Madhavan

The meaning of Madhavan

Indian (Kerala and Tamil Nadu): from a personal name derived from Sanskrit Madhava ‘derived from honey’, an epithet of the Hindu god Krishna, + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n. — Note: Since South Indians traditionally do not have hereditary surnames, this name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Madhavan in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Madhavan has significantly increased from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 66,073 in popularity and rose to rank 42,237 by 2010, displaying a marked change of 36.08%. Similarly, the count of individuals with this surname grew from 280 in 2000 to 514 in 2010, resulting in a substantial 83.57% increase. The proportion per 100k also displayed an upward trend, elevating from 0.1 to 0.17, indicating a seventy percent rise.

20002010Change
Rank#66,073#42,23736.08%
Count28051483.57%
Proportion per 100k0.10.1770%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Madhavan

In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the highest percentage of people with the surname Madhavan identified as Asian/Pacific Islander in both 2000 (93.57%) and 2010 (92.61%), despite a slight decrease of 1.03%. Individuals identifying as two or more races made up the next largest group, although their representation decreased by 18.41% over the decade. Interestingly, those identifying as White saw a significant increase from 1.79% in 2000 to 3.11% in 2010, a growth of 73.74%. There were no reported instances of this surname within the Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native communities during these census years.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander93.57%92.61%-1.03%
Two or More Races4.29%3.5%-18.41%
White1.79%3.11%73.74%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%