Find out how popular the last name Abdi is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Abdi.

Abdi, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Abdi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abdi in America

Abdi is the 4738th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abdi surname appeared 7,484 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Abdi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abdi to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Abdi

The surname ABDI has its origins in Somalia and other parts of the Horn of Africa region. It is derived from the Arabic term "Abd" meaning "servant" or "slave," often used as a prefix to indicate someone who is a servant or follower of a particular religion or ideology.

The name ABDI likely emerged in the early Islamic period when Arabic names and customs were adopted by various ethnic groups in the region. It may have initially been used as a descriptive name or nickname for individuals who were devout followers of Islam or worked in religious services.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name ABDI can be found in the "Futuh Al-Habasha" (Conquest of Abyssinia), a historical chronicle written in the 16th century by the Arab historian Shuayb ibn Idris al-Awsi. This text documents the conflicts between the Muslim armies and the Christian Kingdom of Aksum (present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia).

In the 19th century, the name ABDI was commonly found among the Somali clans and sub-clans, particularly in the northern regions of Somalia and parts of Djibouti. Notable individuals with the surname ABDI from this period include Abdillahi Abdi, a Somali poet and scholar who lived in the late 19th century, and Abdi Wali, a Somali ruler and military leader who played a significant role in the resistance against Italian colonialism in the early 20th century.

Other historical figures with the surname ABDI include Abdi Abdulqadir Jama, a Somali politician and diplomat who served as the first permanent representative of Somalia to the United Nations in the 1960s, and Abdi Bile, a Somali long-distance runner who won numerous international marathons in the 1980s and 1990s.

In recent times, the surname ABDI has become more widely dispersed due to migration and diaspora communities, particularly in countries with significant Somali populations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abdi

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Abdi.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Abdi was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Abdi has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Abdi was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Abdi, please contact us.

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