Americans of Telugu birth or descent
Ethnic group
Telugu Americans అమెరికా తెలుగువారుAmerikā Teluguvāru
The spread of the Telugu language in the United States according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
Total population 1,230,000[ 1] [ 2] Regions with significant populations Languages Predominantly: Religion Predominantly: Hinduism Minority: Christianity ,Islam Related ethnic groups
Telugu Americans (Telugu :అమెరికా తెలుగువారు ,romanized : Amerikā Teluguvāru United States of America who belong to theTelugu ethnolinguistic group. The majority of Telugu Americans can trace their roots back to theIndian states ofAndhra Pradesh andTelangana , but also from other neighboring states includingKarnataka ,Tamil Nadu ,Odisha ,Maharashtra , among others. Telugu Americans are not counted as a distinct group in theUnited States Census , so population estimates are based on the number of Telugu-language speakers reported.
Immigration to United States [ edit ] Historically, majority of the Telugu immigrants to the United States during the 20th century hailed from theKrishna and Godavari delta regions of Andhra Pradesh. Later, during the early 21st century, they primarily came from all major cities of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, and from 2014 onwards, they have been immigrating from all rural and urban areas of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The rise in the Telugu American population is attributed to the increasing representation ofSouth Indian diaspora in the technological field, especially following theY2K incident .[ 3] STEM fields.
Telugu people constitute one of the largest groups ofIndian Americans .[ 4] Bay Area , theTexas Triangle ,Delaware Valley ,Chicagoland ,Central Jersey ,Northern Virginia , as well as theSeattle andBaltimore metropolitan areas. Smaller, but significant populations of Telugu Americans exist throughout the country in other metropolitan and micropolitan areas of almost every state.[ 5] Greater Boston ,Kansas City ,Metro Detroit ,Greater Cleveland , andMinneapolis–Saint Paul .
The predominant faith among Telugu Americans isHinduism , with a significant number also identifying asChristians , and a smaller portion asMuslims .
A recent study by the American Center for Immigration Studies showed Telugu as the fastest growing language in United States, which has grown by 86% in the last seven years.[ 6]
During the2020 United States elections , theTelugu language was first listed on voter registration and ballot boxes in select locales.[ 7] [ 8]
The states with the highest percentages of Telugu speakers are:
Serial No The states with the highest percentages of Telugu speakers State Percentage (%) 1 New Jersey 0.35 2 Delaware 0.25 3 Virginia 0.25 4 Connecticut 0.18 5 Illinois 0.17 6 Texas 0.16 7 California 0.15 8 Maryland 0.15 9 Georgia 0.14 10 New Hampshire 0.13 11 Washington 0.13 12 Massachusetts 0.13 13 Kansas 0.13 14 Michigan 0.12 15 Minnesota 0.11 16 North Carolina 0.10 17 Arizona 0.10 18 Pennsylvania 0.09 19 Ohio 0.07
Notable Telugu Americans [ edit ] [ edit ] Upendra J. Chivukula , Democratic politician who currently serves as a Commissioner on theNew Jersey Board of Public Utilities after serving more than 12 years in theNew Jersey General Assembly , where he had been theDeputy Speaker Narayana Kocherlakota , Economist, former president ofFederal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Kris Kolluri , Commissioner of Transportation,New Jersey Aruna Miller , Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, former member of theMaryland House of Delegates representing District 15 inMontgomery County, Maryland Sashi Reddy , Entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropistUsha Vance ,Second Lady of the United States & Spouse Of United States Vice PresidentJames David Vance .Vinai Thummalapally , Executive Chairman of Red Fort Strategies, U.S. ambassador toBelize (2009–2013)[ edit ] C. R. Rao , A prominent statisticianSatya Nadella , CEO ofMicrosoft Raj Reddy , Computer scientist, founder of the Robotics Institute atCarnegie Mellon University , winner ofTuring Award Vijaya Gadde , Business executive and former global lead of legal, policy, and trust atTwitter Yellapragada Subbarao , Indian biochemist who discovered the function of adenosine triphosphate as an energy source in the cellNeeli Bendapudi , president of Penn State University, former president ofUniversity of Louisville Ravi V. Bellamkonda , Vinik Dean of Engineering atDuke University 'sEdmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering Dabeeru C. Rao , Director of the Division of Biostatistics atWashington University School of Medicine G. S. Maddala , Mathematician and economist best known for work in the field ofeconometrics J. N. Reddy , Professor and holder of theOscar S. Wyatt Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering atTexas A&M University Satya N. Atluri , Professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering atUniversity of California, Irvine Balamurali Ambati , Americanophthalmologist , educator, and researcher. On May 19, 1995, he entered theGuinness Book of World Records as the world's youngestdoctor .Vamsi K. Mootha , Physician-scientist, investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and professor of Systems Biology and of Medicine at Harvard Medical SchoolRao Remala , First Indian employee at MicrosoftE. Premkumar Reddy , Molecular biologist/Molecular oncology . Director of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics program and Professor in the Departments of Oncological Sciences and Structural and Chemical Biology at theMount Sinai School of Medicine .V. Mohan Reddy , Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon atStanford University Seshagiri Mallampati , Anesthesiologist who invented theMallampati score for measuring the ease ofendotracheal intubation Mathukumalli Vidyasagar , Control theoristDattatreyudu Nori , Vice Chairman of the Radiation Oncologist Department at The New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College in New York CitySirisha Bandla , Second India-born woman to go to space throughVirgin Galactic Unity 22 missionRamani Durvasula , Clinical psychologist and professor of psychology atCalifornia State University, Los Angeles . Her practice and research deals with narcissism and its impact on relationships and society as a whole.[ edit ] Samina Ali , Author, feminist, and activistJeff Bhasker , Record producerVijaya Lakshmi Emani , Social activist, posthumously awardedPresidential Citizens Medal Saagar Enjeti , Co-host ofBreaking Points and The HillUma Pemmaraju , Anchor and host on theFox News Channel cable networkAneesh Chaganty , Film directorSiddharth Katragadda , Screenwriter, film director, poet, writer, and painterMehdi Hasan , JournalistAshok Kondabolu , DJ, rapper, former member of hip-hop groupDas Racist Hari Kondabolu , Stand-up comedianAparna Nancherla , Comedian, actress, and voice actor of Hollyhock onNetflix showBoJack Horseman Rushi Kota , ActorSarayu Rao , ActressAryan Simhadri , ActorAjay Naidu , ActorVarun Sandesh , ActorAdivi Sesh , Actor, director, and writerAkash Vukoti , TV personalityRaja Kumari , SingerVivek Maddala , Emmy-winning composer, recording artist and engineer6ix (record producer) , Grammy award winning music producer for rapperLogic (rapper) Nina Davuluri , Miss America 2014Pratima Yarlagadda , Miss Indiana and finalist in Miss USA (1999)Shobu Yarlagadda , Environmental engineer and film producerSreeleela , ActressAvantika Vandanapu , ActressDanny Pudi , Comedian and actorBhaskar Sunkara , Founder and editor ofJacobin , an American socialist magazineTelugu Americans have suffered from hate crimes in America. The most notable of these incidents was the2017 Olathe, Kansas shooting , in which a white supremacist, Adam Purinton, harassed two Telugu immigrants, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, under the pretense that they were Iranians and or illegal immigrants. Purinton proceeded to shoot them, killing Kuchibhotla and wounding Madasani, as well as Ian Grillot, a White American who had come to their defense.
Aishwarya Thatikonda, a Telugu immigrant from Hyderabad, and Dallas resident, was a victim of the2023 Allen, Texas outlet mall shooting .
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