Explore the Family Name Khalif

The meaning of Khalif

Somali: from a Somali Muslim personal name, an equivalent of Arabic Khalifa. It is also found in Kenya and Djibouti. — Note: Since Somalis traditionally do not have hereditary surnames, this name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Khalif has seen a significant increase between 2000 and 2010. In terms of rank, it jumped up from 92,217 in 2000 to 49,365 in 2010, marking a change of 46.47%. The count of individuals with this surname also rose substantially, from 185 in 2000 to 426 in 2010, representing a 130.27% increase. Furthermore, the proportion per 100k of people with the Khalif surname doubled from 0.07 in 2000 to 0.14 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#92,217	#49,365	46.47%
Count	185	426	130.27%
Proportion per 100k	0.07	0.14	100%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Khalif

The Decennial U.S. Census data also sheds light on the ethnic identity associated with the surname Khalif. A significant shift was observed from 2000 to 2010, with the percentage of those identifying as Black increasing from 61.08% to 81.69%, indicating a 33.74% growth. Meanwhile, the proportion of Asians/Pacific Islanders and Whites bearing the Khalif name decreased by 41.98% and 40.31% respectively. There were no recorded instances of the Khalif surname among Hispanics or American Indian and Alaskan Natives in either year, while those identifying with two or more races dropped to zero in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	61.08%	81.69%	33.74%
White	25.95%	15.49%	-40.31%
Asian/Pacific Islander	3.24%	1.88%	-41.98%
Two or More Races	8.11%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%