Singh surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Singh surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 116,749 people carried this name — #260 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,530 people counted. That is up 61% from 72,642 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Singh surname

From Hindi सिंघ (siṅgh, “lion”) or Punjabi ਸਿੰਘ (siṅgh, “lion”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Singh» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 5,030 people named Singh live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Limburg 1,773
Antwerp 727
Brussels-Capital 610
West Flanders 551
Flemish Brabant 540
Liège 427
East Flanders 269
Hainaut 80

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 2,677 people named Singh live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Salta.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Salta 664
Buenos Aires Province 577
Tucumán 516
Jujuy 296
Córdoba 197
City of Buenos Aires 187
Santa Fe 115
San Luis 35

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

2,111 people named Singh live in Switzerland.

They live in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 635
Bern 257
Geneva 248
Aargau 175
Vaud 145
Basel-Stadt 107
Solothurn 79
Basel-Landschaft 64

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Poland’s population register

945 people named Singh have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 4,779 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Masovian 292
Łódź 82
Greater Poland 64
Silesian 64
Lesser Poland 62
Lower Silesian 58
Lublin 58
Pomeranian 46

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 461 people named Singh.

Most of them — 430 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 12 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 430
Paris 9
Val-d’Oise 6
Seine-et-Marne 3
Seine-Saint-Denis 3
French Guiana 2
Nord 2
Val-de-Marne 1
Essonne 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

5,656 people named Singh are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 2,999
Norway (2025) 2,075
Finland (2026) 582

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Singh in American newspapers,
1844–1920.

Newspaper page from Gazeta De Puerto-Rico carrying the name Singh
Gazeta De Puerto-Rico 1844-02-13
Newspaper page from The Seattle Star carrying the name Singh
The Seattle Star 1914-09-11
Newspaper page from The Rock Island Argus And Daily Union carrying the name Singh
The Rock Island Argus And Daily Union 1920-03-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 27,419 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Singh,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Kunwar Singh
    Kunwar Singh 1777–1858 · revolutionary
  • Ranbir Singh I of Kashmir
    Ranbir Singh I of Kashmir 1830–1885 · monarch
  • Pratap Singh I of Kashmir
    Pratap Singh I of Kashmir 1848–1925 · monarch
  • Baba Gurdit Singh
    Baba Gurdit Singh 1860–1954 · revolutionary
  • Bhagvat Singh
    Bhagvat Singh 1865–1944 · writer

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 154 lives in all are documented under this name.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Singh is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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