Explore the Family Name Abdullah
The meaning of Abdullah
Arabic: from the personal name ʿAbdullāh ‘servant of God/Allah’. This was the name of the father of the prophet Muhammad, who died before Muhammad was born. In the Koran (19:30), Jesus calls himself ʿAbdullāh: ‘He (Jesus) said: I am the servant of God’. Bearers of this surname are both Muslims and Christians. Compare Abdallah. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Muhammad, Ali, Ahmed, Hassan, Mohamed, Ibrahim, Mohammed, Adnan, Khalil, Tariq, Amin, Ismail.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Abdullah in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Abdullah has shown a significant increase in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 5,460th amongst all surnames and by 2010 it had risen to 4,272nd - an impressive change of approximately 21.76%. The count also increased from 5,859 people with this surname in 2000 to 8,314 in 2010, marking an increase of 41.9%. Proportionally, for every 100,000 people, there were 2.17 individuals named Abdullah in 2000, increasing to 2.82 in 2010 which corresponds to a growth rate of nearly 30%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,460 | #4,272 | 21.76% |
| Count | 5,859 | 8,314 | 41.9% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.17 | 2.82 | 29.95% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Abdullah
The ethnicity distribution for the surname Abdullah also changed during this period as per the Decennial U.S. Census data. The highest percentage of people with this surname identified as Black, though this decreased slightly from 58.22% in 2000 to 51.36% in 2010. The second largest ethnic identity was White, which grew from 16.93% in 2000 to 24.40% in 2010. People of Asian/Pacific Islander descent made up 12.15% of the Abdullahs in 2000 and increased to 13.74% in 2010. Those identifying as Two or more races dropped from 10.45% to 7.28% over the decade. Meanwhile, the proportion of Abdullahs who identified as Hispanic rose from 1.88% to 2.96%, while those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native declined from 0.38% to 0.26%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 58.22% | 51.36% | -11.78% |
| White | 16.93% | 24.4% | 44.12% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 12.15% | 13.74% | 13.09% |
| Two or More Races | 10.45% | 7.28% | -30.33% |
| Hispanic | 1.88% | 2.96% | 57.45% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.38% | 0.26% | -31.58% |
Abdullah ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Abdullah is Nigerian, which comprises 11.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Northern Indian & Pakistani (10.9%) and British & Irish (9.0%). Additional ancestries include Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Peninsular Arab, Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian, Levantine, and Bengali & Northeast Indian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Nigerian | 11.8% |
| Northern Indian & Pakistani | 10.9% |
| British & Irish | 9.0% |
| Other | 68.3% |
Possible origins of the surname Abdullah
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Abdullah have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Pakistan.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 16.90% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 16.90% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 16.40% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 15.80% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 15.80% |
What Abdullah haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Abdullah is J-CTS5368, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-CTS5368 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and O-M1359, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Joseph, Hasan, Hassan, Solomon, Abraham, Graham, Mustafa, Schwartz, Blanco, Louis.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Abdullah surname are: M, U2_3_4_7_8_9, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages
Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Abdullah have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Abdullah" Surname 42.2%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Abdullah" Surname 18.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Abdullah" Surname 19.1%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Abdullah" Surname 11.2%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Abdullah?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Abdullah are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition