Explore the Family Name Zaw

The meaning of Zaw

Burmese: from a personal name usually forming part of a compound name, from zaw ‘surge of emotion’, or from a homonym meaning ‘pre-eminent person’. — Note: Since Burmese do not have hereditary surnames, this name was 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 Zaw in the United States?

The Zaw surname has seen significant growth in popularity from 2000 to 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, the name held the rank of 103,193, but by the year 2010, it had risen drastically to 46,404 - a change of over 55 percent. The count of individuals with this surname also increased during this period from 161 to 459, marking a whopping 185 percent increase. In terms of proportion per 100,000 people, the presence of the Zaw surname grew from 0.06 to 0.16, a change of approximately 167 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#103,193	#46,404	55.03%
Count	161	459	185.09%
Proportion per 100k	0.06	0.16	166.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Zaw

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the Zaw surname is predominantly associated with the Asian/Pacific Islander ethnic identity. In 2000, over 90 percent of those bearing this surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, and this number rose slightly to over 95 percent by 2010. There was a small percentage who identified as White or with two or more races, though these percentages decreased between 2000 and 2010. Interestingly, no individuals with the Zaw surname identified as Hispanic, Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either the 2000 or 2010 census reports.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	90.06%	95.21%	5.72%
White	4.35%	3.05%	-29.89%
Two or More Races	3.73%	1.09%	-70.78%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%