Explore the Family Name Arab

The meaning of Arab

Arabic: ethnic name for an Arab, from ʿarab, a collective, meaning literally ‘Arabdom, Arabs’. The surname is most frequent in countries, such as Iran and Algeria, that were not populated by ethnic Arabs in the first millennum; its bearers are both Muslims and Christians.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Arab increased significantly between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Arab was ranked as the 53,556th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had risen to the 43,285th spot, marking a growth rate of 19.18%. The number of individuals with this surname also grew during this period, rising from 362 to 499, which represents an increase of 37.85%. This trend is reflected in the proportion per 100K people, which rose by 30.77% over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#53,556	#43,285	19.18%
Count	362	499	37.85%
Proportion per 100k	0.13	0.17	30.77%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Arab

Turning to ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data indicates shifts in the ethnicity of those bearing the surname Arab from 2000 to 2010. The percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders with this surname increased by 52.85%, while the proportion identifying as Black more than doubled, growing by 156.82%. However, there were declines among other ethnic groups. Those identifying as White decreased by 17.88%, and Hispanics dropped by 20.52%. Interestingly, the percentage of individuals identifying as two or more races fell by half. No changes were observed among American Indian and Alaskan Natives over this ten-year span.

	2000	2010	Change
White	62.71%	51.5%	-17.88%
Asian/Pacific Islander	12.98%	19.84%	52.85%
Black	7.18%	18.44%	156.82%
Two or More Races	11.33%	5.61%	-50.49%
Hispanic	5.8%	4.61%	-20.52%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%