Explore the Family Name Ara

The meaning of Ara

1. Muslim (Indian subcontinent): from a Persian female personal name based on ārā ‘adorning’. 2. Iranian: from Persian ārā ‘adorning’‎, forming the second part (or suffix) of a compound personal name, having the meaning ‘adorner of’. 3. Spanish: habitational name from a place called Ara in Aragon, formed with Latin ara ‘altar’ or pre-Latin ar- ‘valley’.

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

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

The surname Ara has seen a significant rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010, as indicated by data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Ara ranked 39,111 in popularity with a count of 530 individuals carrying this surname. However, by 2010, it had risen to rank 26,949 with 900 individuals holding the surname, marking an increase of 31.1% in rank and 69.81% in count. The proportion per 100k also saw a boost of 55%, increasing from 0.2 in 2000 to 0.31 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#39,111	#26,949	31.1%
Count	530	900	69.81%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.31	55%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ara

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010. Most notably, there was a significant increase in the percentage of Ara's identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, rising from 49.43% to 59.67%. Conversely, the number of Ara's identifying as White or Hispanic dropped by 18.57% and 11.14% respectively. The representation of Ara's within the Black community also increased, albeit modestly, from 1.13% to 2.11%. Data regarding those identifying as belonging to two or more races, or as American Indian and Alaskan Native was suppressed for privacy reasons.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	49.43%	59.67%	20.72%
Hispanic	22.26%	19.78%	-11.14%
White	20.19%	16.44%	-18.57%
Black	1.13%	2.11%	86.73%
Two or More Races	6.04%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.94%	0%	0%