Explore the Family Name Mafi

The meaning of Mafi

1. Tongan: unexplained. 2. Iranian: probably from a shortened form of the personal name Moafi, based on the Persian word (of Arabic origin) muʻāfī ‘privilege, exemption’, also ‘forgiveness’ (compare 3 below). 3. Bangladeshi: from the personal name Mafi, based on maf ‘to forgive’, a Bengali word of Persian origin (see 2 above).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Mafi has seen a surge in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Mafi was ranked as the 62,961st most popular surname but climbed to the 48,800th spot by 2010, marking a significant increase of 22.49%. The count of individuals with this surname also rose from 297 to 432 within the same period, growing by an impressive 45.45%. Consequently, the proportion of people named Mafi per 100,000 individuals expanded by 36.36% during these years.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#62,961	#48,800	22.49%
Count	297	432	45.45%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.15	36.36%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Mafi

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the Mafi surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals interesting shifts over the decade. Asian/Pacific Islander remained the dominant ethnicity, despite a slight decrease from 56.23% in 2000 to 55.09% in 2010. Individuals identifying with two or more races saw a substantial increase, jumping from 11.45% to 16.20%, a rise of 41.48%. The proportion of Whites slightly decreased by 4.33%, while Hispanic representation dropped significantly by 42.19%. There were no individuals identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in both census years.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	56.23%	55.09%	-2.03%
White	24.92%	23.84%	-4.33%
Two or More Races	11.45%	16.2%	41.48%
Hispanic	6.4%	3.7%	-42.19%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%