Explore the Family Name Abdel

The meaning of Abdel

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name based on ʿabd al ‘servant of the […]’ (literally ‘slave of the […]’). In Arabic personal names ʿAbd al (or ʿAbd el, ʿAbdel) is normally a component of a compound name referring to an attribute of Allah, for example ʿAbd al-Ḥakīm ‘servant of the All-Wise’. See also Abdul.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Abdel" in the United States has significantly increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Abdel was ranked 70,052nd most popular surname but it rose to a rank of 56,836 by 2010, marking an improvement of approximately 18.87%. The count, or the number of people with the surname Abdel, also saw an increase from 261 in 2000 to 359 in 2010, a growth of 37.55%. Consequently, the proportion of the Abdel surname per 100,000 people increased by 20%, from 0.1 in 2000 to 0.12 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#70,052#56,83618.87%
Count26135937.55%
Proportion per 100k0.10.1220%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Abdel

The ethnicity associated with the surname Abdel has also shifted over the decade from 2000 to 2010, as per the Decennial U.S. Census. While there were significant proportions identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those of two or more ethnicities in 2000 (6.51% and 34.10% respectively), these figures changed dramatically by 2010, dropping to 0%. In contrast, the proportion of individuals with the surname Abdel who identify as White has surged from 41.38% in 2000 to 71.03% in 2010, a substantial increase of 71.65%. Meanwhile, the proportion of those identifying as Hispanic fell slightly by 10.27%. Similarly, the Black ethnicity saw a decrease of 14.44%, from 6.51% in 2000 to 5.57% in 2010. There were no individuals identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

20002010Change
White41.38%71.03%71.65%
Hispanic11.49%10.31%-10.27%
Two or More Races34.1%7.52%-77.95%
Black6.51%5.57%-14.44%
Asian/Pacific Islander6.51%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%