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

Abed, 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 Abed surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abed in America

Abed is the 17734th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abed surname appeared 1,580 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Abed.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abed 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 Abed

The surname Abed has its origins in the Arabic language. It is believed to have emerged in the Middle East region, particularly in present-day Syria and Palestine, during the medieval period.

The name Abed is derived from the Arabic word "Abd," which means "servant" or "worshipper." It was a common practice in Arab cultures to prefix personal names with "Abd" followed by one of the names or attributes of God, indicating devotion and servitude to the divine.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Abed can be found in the chronicles of the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled a vast empire spanning parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia from the 7th to the 8th century. During this period, the name was associated with scholars, religious figures, and notable individuals.

In the 12th century, the surname Abed appears in several historical manuscripts and records from the Ayyubid Dynasty, which ruled over parts of Egypt, Syria, and Yemen. One notable figure was Abu Bakr Abed al-Aziz, a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist who lived between 1150 and 1223.

As the Islamic Empire expanded, the surname Abed spread across various regions, including parts of the Iberian Peninsula during the Moorish rule in Spain. In the 14th century, the name was found in records from the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, where it was associated with prominent families and individuals.

Over the centuries, the surname Abed underwent various spellings and variations, such as Aboud, Abedin, and Abadi, reflecting the diverse linguistic and cultural influences in the regions where it was present.

Among the notable individuals bearing the surname Abed throughout history are:

1. Muhammad Abed al-Jabri (1936-2010), a Moroccan philosopher and writer known for his works on Arab-Islamic thought.
2. Hasan Abed Rabbo (1920-2003), a Syrian writer and journalist who made significant contributions to modern Arabic literature.
3. Zainab Abed (1970-present), an Iraqi-American writer and human rights activist known for her work highlighting the plight of women in conflict zones.
4. Abderrahmane Abed (1912-1990), an Algerian novelist and playwright who played a significant role in the Algerian literary renaissance.
5. Nouri Abed al-Maliki (1950-present), a former Prime Minister of Iraq who served from 2006 to 2014.

While the surname Abed has its roots in the Middle East, it has become widely dispersed across various parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchange, carrying with it a rich historical legacy and cultural significance.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abed

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

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 Abed 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 Abed 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 Abed was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!