Explore the Family Name Saliba

The meaning of Saliba

1. Arabic (Lebanon): variant of Salib ‘cross’, based on an Arabized form of Syriac ṣlīwā (see 2 below). Bearers of this surname are Christians. 2. Assyrian/Chaldean: from a male personal name based on an Arabized form of Syriac ṣlīwā ‘cross’ (see Sliwa 2). It corresponds to the Greek personal name Stavros. Compare Saleeby. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Anis, Bassam, Beshara, Issam, Tammer, Assad, Charbel, Ghada, Ghassan, Issa, Jalal, Jamal. French Georges, Pierre, Alcyone, Francois, Gisele, Hyacinthe, Jean-Claude.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Saliba has been steadily increasing in popularity within the United States. In the year 2000, it ranked 14,995 in terms of popularity and by 2010 had climbed to a rank of 13,509 — a significant increase of 9.91%. Furthermore, the number of people carrying the Saliba surname also rose from 1,809 in 2000 to 2,245 in 2010, marking a growth of 24.1%. This shift was reflected in the proportion per 100k, which moved from 0.67 to 0.76 in the same time frame.

20002010Change
Rank#14,995#13,5099.91%
Count1,8092,24524.1%
Proportion per 100k0.670.7613.43%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Saliba

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows an interesting change. The percentage of individuals with the Saliba surname identifying as White decreased slightly from 87.62% in 2000 to 85.17% in 2010. Conversely, those identifying as Hispanic saw an impressive rise from 3.43% to 5.57%, a hefty 62.39% change over the decade. The Asian/Pacific Islander community experienced a slight increase, moving from 4.15% to 4.77%. Meanwhile, the portion of individuals claiming two or more races saw a minor decrease from 3.43% to 3.07%. Interestingly, no individuals with the Saliba surname identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native during either census year.

20002010Change
White87.62%85.17%-2.8%
Hispanic3.43%5.57%62.39%
Asian/Pacific Islander4.15%4.77%14.94%
Two or More Races3.43%3.07%-10.5%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%

Saliba ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Saliba is Levantine, which comprises 36.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (18.5%) and Italian (9.9%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian, Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Levantine36.8%
British & Irish18.5%
Italian9.9%
Other34.9%
Saliba

Possible origins of the surname Saliba

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Saliba have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Lebanon.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Merseyside, United Kingdom45.50%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom45.50%
Greater London, United Kingdom45.50%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom45.50%
West Midlands, United Kingdom43.90%

What Saliba haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Saliba is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Saliba surname are: H1, H, N1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

salibaPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Saliba have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Saliba

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Saliba" Surname 41.2%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Saliba

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Saliba" Surname 42.9%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Saliba?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Saliba are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Levantine 63.4%

23andMe Users 57.2%