Explore the Family Name Swaminathan

The meaning of Swaminathan

Indian (Kerala, Tamil Nadu): from a personal name derived from Sanskrit svāmi ‘lord’ (see Swamy) + nātha ‘lord’ + 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. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Anand, Bala, Hari, Krishna, Murali, Ramesh, Sriram, Sundar, Aravind, Arun, Ashok, Balaji.

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

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

According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Swaminathan has significantly increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Swaminathan was ranked at 39,560 in terms of popularity, with 523 individuals carrying the name. A decade later, the rank rose to 24,572, marking a substantial increase of 37.89%. The count of individuals with the surname Swaminathan also witnessed a remarkable upsurge of 94.46%, reaching 1,017 in 2010. Furthermore, the proportion of people named Swaminathan per 100k population grew by 78.95%.

20002010Change
Rank#39,560#24,57237.89%
Count5231,01794.46%
Proportion per 100k0.190.3478.95%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Swaminathan

On the ethnic identity front, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that most individuals with the surname Swaminathan identify as Asian/Pacific Islander. In 2000, this cohort made up 92.93% of all Swaminathans, and it grew to 96.17% by 2010, an increase of 3.49%. Meanwhile, the percentage of Swaminathans who identified as belonging to two or more races decreased by 33.54%, from 3.25% in 2000 to 2.16% in 2010. Those identifying as White also shrunk from 2.87% in 2000 to just 1.08% in 2010, a decline of 62.37%. There were no Swaminathans reporting Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity in either census year.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander92.93%96.17%3.49%
Two or More Races3.25%2.16%-33.54%
White2.87%1.08%-62.37%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%