Explore the Family Name Mehra

The meaning of Mehra

Indian (Punjab): from Punjabi mehrā ‘chief, master’. Compare Mehrotra. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Anil, Sanjay, Vijay, Arun, Prem, Rajiv, Ravi, Ajay, Dev, Pradeep, Sanjeev, Ashok.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Mehra has seen a marked increase in popularity over a decade from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Mehra was ranked as the 25,006th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had jumped up the rankings to become the 19,189th most popular surname, a change of 23.26%. Similarly, the number of individuals with the Mehra surname also rose during this period, with a count of 932 in 2000 growing to 1,415 in 2010 – an impressive growth of 51.82%. The proportion of people with the Mehra surname per 100k also increased by 37.14%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#25,006	#19,189	23.26%
Count	932	1,415	51.82%
Proportion per 100k	0.35	0.48	37.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mehra

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals with the Mehra surname identify as Asian/Pacific Islander. Between 2000 and 2010, there was an 8.21% increase in this group, from 79.29% to 85.80%. The percentage of Mehra surname bearers identifying as 'Two or more races' decreased by 22.41%, while those identifying as White saw a significant drop of 35.90%. The Hispanic representation also fell by 42.86%. There were no individuals with the Mehra surname who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either 2000 or 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	79.29%	85.8%	8.21%
White	12.23%	7.84%	-35.9%
Two or More Races	6.65%	5.16%	-22.41%
Hispanic	1.61%	0.92%	-42.86%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%