# Patel (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/patel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Gujarati, meaning “village headman”.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Gujarati |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 229,973 |
| US rank (2010) | 95 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,343 people |
| Change since 2000 | +59% (145,066 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /pəˈtɛl/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Gujarati પટેલ (paṭěl, “village headman”), from Prakrit 𑀧𑀝𑁆𑀝𑀇𑀮𑁆𑀮 (paṭṭaïlla), from Sanskrit पट्टकिल (paṭṭakila). Doublet of Patil.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Patel in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 2.1% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 95% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Patel in the United Kingdom, India and the United States.

## People named Patel

- Dev Patel, British actor (born 1990)
- Himesh Patel, British actor
- Anandiben Patel, 20th Governor of Uttar Pradesh
- Upen Patel, British actor
- Gayatri Patel, American-Indian actress
- Nikesh Patel, British actor

## Similar surnames

Patil, Pattillo, Patillo, Padilla, Padula, Padillo, Padley.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.