Explore the Family Name Essa

The meaning of Essa

Arabic and Somali: from a variant of the personal name Issa ‘Jesus’. The Somali name is also found in Ethiopia. — Note: Since Somalis do not have hereditary surnames, their name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Abdul, Mohamed, Hasan, Ahmad, Ahmed, Ehab, Emran, Essa, Faisal, Farooq, Hanif, Hodan.

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

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

Based on the decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname 'Essa' has witnessed a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Essa ranked 41,657 in popularity with a count of 492. However, by 2010, it had risen sharply to rank 29,447 with an increased count of 802, marking a growth rate of over 63%. The proportion per 100,000 people also increased by 50%, from 0.18 to 0.27.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#41,657	#29,447	29.31%
Count	492	802	63.01%
Proportion per 100k	0.18	0.27	50%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Essa

The ethnicity associated with the surname has also seen some shifts according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, the largest ethnic identity associated with the Essa surname was White at 63.82%, which increased to 66.83% in 2010. Those identifying as Black followed with 9.96% in 2000 and an increase to 14.84% in 2010. The Asian/Pacific Islander group saw a slight decrease from 12.40% to 11.72%. A notable change occurred in those identifying as two or more races, which decreased significantly from 11.99% to 5.61%. Meanwhile, the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic or American Indian and Alaskan Native was negligible or suppressed for privacy in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	63.82%	66.83%	4.72%
Black	9.96%	14.84%	49%
Asian/Pacific Islander	12.4%	11.72%	-5.48%
Two or More Races	11.99%	5.61%	-53.21%
Hispanic	1.83%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%