Explore the Family Name Nigam

The meaning of Nigam

Indian (northern states): Kayastha name. In Hindi, the word nigəm (from Sanskrit nigama) has several meanings, including ‘path’, ‘market’, and ‘determination’. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Anil, Ashok, Madhu, Ravi, Alok, Archna, Chander, Himanshu, Pratap, Rishi, Vivek, Ajay.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Nigam has noticeably increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Nigam was ranked as the 52,077th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had climbed to the 35,147th spot, marking a significant jump of 32.51%. The count of individuals bearing the surname also rose from 375 in 2000 to 641 in 2010, a 70.93% increase. Similarly, the proportion of people named Nigam per 100,000 increased by 57.14%, moving from 0.14 in 2000 to 0.22 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#52,077	#35,147	32.51%
Count	375	641	70.93%
Proportion per 100k	0.14	0.22	57.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nigam

On the subject of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the surname Nigam identify as Asian/Pacific Islander. This ethnicity saw an increase from 89.07% in 2000 to 95.01% in 2010, a growth of 6.67%. Those who identified with two or more races decreased significantly from 7.2% to 2.5%, a drop of 65.28%. The percentage of individuals identifying as White also declined from 3.2% to 2.18%, down by 31.87%. No individuals with the surname Nigam identified as Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native during both these census years.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	89.07%	95.01%	6.67%
Two or More Races	7.2%	2.5%	-65.28%
White	3.2%	2.18%	-31.87%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%