2000
#10,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,894
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Abdallah
Derived from a personal name meaning "servant of Allah" in Arabic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,338 Americans carry the last name Abdallah. That puts it at #5,996 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,079 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abdallah surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Abdallah with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,079
Census rank
#5,996
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,527 bearers of the surname Abdallah in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5996th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abdallah, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abdallah
The surname Abdallah originates from the Arabic language and can be traced back to the Middle East region, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Palestine. It is a patronymic name, derived from the Arabic personal name "Abdullah," which means "servant of God."
The name Abdallah has a rich historical background, with its roots dating back to the early Islamic era. It is believed to have been used as a surname by Arab families who descended from someone named Abdullah, a common practice in the Arab world.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Abdallah can be found in various Islamic manuscripts and historical records from the 7th and 8th centuries. These documents often referred to individuals with the name Abdullah, which later evolved into the surname Abdallah.
In the 11th century, the name Abdallah gained prominence with the rise of the Abbasid caliphate, a dynasty that ruled over a vast territory spanning from North Africa to Central Asia. Several notable figures from this period bore the name Abdallah, including Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz, a renowned poet and scholar who lived from 861 to 908 CE.
Throughout history, the Abdallah surname has been associated with various influential individuals. One such figure was Abdallah al-Battani, a renowned astronomer and mathematician from the 9th century, known for his contributions to the field of trigonometry and his accurate calculations of the solar year.
Another notable bearer of the Abdallah surname was Abdallah ibn Yasin, a Berber religious leader and the founder of the Almoravid dynasty, which ruled over parts of North Africa and Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries.
In more recent times, the Abdallah surname has been carried by individuals like Abdallah Azzam, a Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s.
The Abdallah surname has also been found in various regions with historical ties to the Arab world, such as parts of the Iberian Peninsula, where it may have been adopted by families with Arab ancestry during the period of Islamic rule in Spain.
While the Abdallah surname has its origins in the Arab world, it has since spread to other regions and cultures, reflecting the diverse and far-reaching influence of Arab culture and history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abdallah
Among Census respondents with the surname Abdallah, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Abdallah bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Abdallah surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 4,149
- Black or African American15.4% · 851
- Two or more races4.2% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 228
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abdallah
Abdallah appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,121
+1,227 bearers (+42.4%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Up 2,189 places
2020
#5,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,527
+1,406 bearers (+34.1%)
Per 100,000 1.85
Rank movement Up 2,036 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,221 | 2,894 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,032 | 4,121 | 1.40 | +1,227 bearers (+42.4%) | Up 2,189 places |
| 2020 | #5,996 | 5,527 | 1.85 | +1,406 bearers (+34.1%) | Up 2,036 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Abdallah surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,032 | #5,996 | 25.3% |
| Count | 4,121 | 5,527 | 34.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.85 | 32.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abdallah bearers went from 4,121 to 5,527 (+34.1% change). The surname moved up 2,036 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,032 to #5,996.
FAQ
Abdallah surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abdallah?
Name Census estimates that about 6,338 living Americans carry the surname Abdallah. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,079 residents.
How common is Abdallah?
Abdallah ranks #5,996 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,527 people with the surname Abdallah. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,338), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Abdallah.
Has Abdallah become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abdallah went from 4,121 recorded bearers to 5,527. That is an increase of 1,406 (+34.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,032 to #5,996.
What does the Census say about the background of Abdallah?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abdallah, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Abdallah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (4,149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abdallah appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (15.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Abdallah (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Abdallah mean?
Derived from a personal name meaning "servant of Allah" in Arabic. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Abdallah (1.85 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Abdallah?
See how many people have the last name Abdallah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.