2000
#39,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 519
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Sarin
A surname derived from the town of Sarine in Switzerland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 842 Americans carry the last name Sarin. That puts it at #33,419 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 407,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sarin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sarin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
842
1 in 407,072
Census rank
#33,419
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
734
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 734 bearers of the surname Sarin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33419th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sarin, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sarin
The surname "Sarin" has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the northern regions of India and Pakistan. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "Sarini," meaning "a river or a stream." The name likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Sarin" can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This document mentions a village called "Sarin" located in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
In the late 17th century, the name appears in the records of the East India Company, where a merchant named Ramjidas Sarin is mentioned as trading in silk and spices between India and Europe. This suggests that the name was already well-established among mercantile communities at the time.
During the 18th century, the surname "Sarin" gained prominence in the region of Punjab, where it was associated with the Khatri community, a Hindu caste traditionally involved in trade and commerce. One notable figure from this period was Lala Sarin Das, a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who established several educational institutions in Lahore (now in Pakistan) in the late 1700s.
In the 19th century, the name "Sarin" began to spread beyond the Indian subcontinent due to the migration of individuals and families to various parts of the British Empire. One such individual was Munshi Sarin Chand, a scholar and linguist who worked as an interpreter for the British government in India and later settled in England, where he published several works on Indian languages and culture.
Another notable figure from this era was Lala Sarin Das Khanna, a prominent businessman and philanthropist from Punjab, who was born in 1855 and played a significant role in the development of the city of Amritsar. He was instrumental in establishing several educational and charitable institutions in the region.
As the 20th century dawned, the surname "Sarin" continued to be associated with individuals from diverse fields, such as academia, politics, and the arts. For example, Dr. Jyoti Sarin was a renowned physicist and educator who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics in India and served as the chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1983.
In more recent times, the name "Sarin" has gained global recognition through individuals like Navtej Sarin, an Indian diplomat and former Foreign Secretary of India, and Navin Sarin, an accomplished business leader who served as the CEO of Vodafone India and later as the CEO of Telenor Group.
Overall, the surname "Sarin" has a rich and diverse history, spanning centuries and various regions of the Indian subcontinent. It has been carried by individuals from different walks of life, including merchants, scholars, philanthropists, scientists, and diplomats, contributing to the cultural and intellectual fabric of their respective societies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sarin
Among Census respondents with the surname Sarin, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sarin bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Sarin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander68.3% · 501
- White24.4% · 179
- Two or more races4.5% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 15
- Black or African American0.8% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sarin
Sarin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#40,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 541
+22 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 608 places
2020
#33,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 734
+193 bearers (+35.7%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 7,013 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,824 | 519 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #40,432 | 541 | 0.18 | +22 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 608 places |
| 2020 | #33,419 | 734 | 0.25 | +193 bearers (+35.7%) | Up 7,013 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Sarin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #40,432 | #33,419 | 17.3% |
| Count | 541 | 734 | 35.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.25 | 36.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sarin bearers went from 541 to 734 (+35.7% change). The surname moved up 7,013 positions in the national ranking, going from #40,432 to #33,419.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sarin
FAQ
Sarin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sarin?
Name Census estimates that about 842 living Americans carry the surname Sarin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 407,072 residents.
How common is Sarin?
Sarin ranks #33,419 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 734 people with the surname Sarin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (842), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sarin.
Has Sarin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sarin went from 541 recorded bearers to 734. That is an increase of 193 (+35.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #40,432 to #33,419.
What does the Census say about the background of Sarin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sarin, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sarin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (501 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sarin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (68.3%), White (24.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Sarin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Sarin mean?
A surname derived from the town of Sarine in Switzerland. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Sarin (0.25 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Sarin?
If you just want to know how many people are called Sarin, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.