Explore the Family Name Parsi

The meaning of Parsi

1. Indian (mainly Gujarat and Mumbai): ethnic name, literally meaning ‘Persian’ in Hindi, denoting a devotee of the Zoroastrian religion in India. Zoroastrianism was brought to India from Persia (Iran) between the 7th and 10th centuries ad. 2. Italian: patronymic or plural form of parso, a short form of the adjective apparso ‘appeared’, applied as a personal name, with reference to a newborn child (one that had ‘just appeared’).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Parsi has grown in popularity over time. In 2000, Parsi ranked 83,301 in popularity with a count of 210 in the US, equating to approximately 0.08 per 100,000 people. By 2010, the rank had risen to 67,519, an increase by almost 19%. The count also rose significantly to 292, a notable growth rate of 39.05%, increasing the proportion per 100,000 to 0.1.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#83,301	#67,519	18.95%
Count	210	292	39.05%
Proportion per 100k	0.08	0.1	25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Parsi

Regarding ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows significant shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Parsis identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander grew immensely from 3.33% to 19.18%, a change of nearly 476%. Those reporting two or more races increased modestly from 8.10% to 9.25%. However, there was a decrease among those identifying as White, dropping from 75.71% to 57.88%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic representation slightly increased from 10.00% to 11.64%, while the Black representation went down to zero percent in 2010. No data was reported for American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	75.71%	57.88%	-23.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander	3.33%	19.18%	475.98%
Hispanic	10%	11.64%	16.4%
Two or More Races	8.1%	9.25%	14.2%
Black	2.86%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%