Explore the Family Name Tahir

The meaning of Tahir

1. Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ṭāhir ‘pure, virtuous’. Compare Taher. 2. Albanian: from the Muslim personal name Tahir (see 1 above). In North America, this surname is probably also an altered form of the much more common Albanian variant Tahiri. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Mohammad, Mohammed, Syed, Nadeem, Abdul, Ali, Asghar, Irfan, Mohamed, Naeem, Rashid, Saghir.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Tahir has seen a significant rise in popularity over the years. In the year 2000, it ranked 22,116 in popularity with a count of 1,091, equivalent to 0.4 per 100,000 people. By 2010, its rank had soared to 14,920 due to an increase of 81.85% in the number of individuals bearing this surname, amounting to 1,984. The proportion per 100,000 also increased by 67.5% to 0.67, indicating its growing prevalence.

20002010Change
Rank#22,116#14,92032.54%
Count1,0911,98481.85%
Proportion per 100k0.40.6767.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tahir

In terms of ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the largest ethnic identity associated with the surname Tahir is Asian/Pacific Islander, which saw an increase of 24.38% from 53.53% in 2000 to 66.58% in 2010. This was followed by the White ethnicity, which grew by 16.71% from 14.12% to 16.48%. The Black ethnicity also experienced growth, rising by 19.33% from 8.07% to 9.63%. However, those identifying as Two or more races decreased significantly, from 22.00% in 2000 to 5.70% in 2010. There were no individuals of Hispanic or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities associated with the surname during both census periods.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander53.53%66.58%24.38%
White14.12%16.48%16.71%
Black8.07%9.63%19.33%
Two or More Races22%5.7%-74.09%
Hispanic0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%