Explore the Family Name Africa

The meaning of Africa

Italian and Spanish: ethnic name for a person of African descent or nickname for someone with some other connection with the continent of Africa. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Consuelo, Gregorio, Angel, Candido, Carmencita, Faustino, Leandro, Luz, Manuel, Raul, Rogelio.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "Africa" experienced a rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 44,738 but climbed to 42,579 in 2010, marking a 4.83% change. The count of individuals with this surname also increased from 452 to 509 during this period, showing a significant 12.61% growth. Despite these changes, the proportion per 100k remained stable at 0.17.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#44,738	#42,579	4.83%
Count	452	509	12.61%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.17	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Africa

The ethnicity distribution associated with the surname "Africa" also showed some shifts according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased from 45.58% in 2000 to 50.49% ten years later. There was also a notable increase in those identifying as Black or African American, growing by 111.02% over the same period. However, there were declines seen among those identifying as White (from 43.14% to 35.95%) and those reporting two or more ethnicities (from 4.87% to 3.14%). In 2010, a small percentage (2.95%) identified as Hispanic for the first time. No data was reported for individuals identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	45.58%	50.49%	10.77%
White	43.14%	35.95%	-16.67%
Black	3.54%	7.47%	111.02%
Two or More Races	4.87%	3.14%	-35.52%
Hispanic	0%	2.95%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%