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

Abela, 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 Abela surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abela in America

Abela is the 40856th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abela surname appeared 534 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Abela.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abela 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 Abela

The surname Abela has its origins in Malta, a small island nation located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "abel," meaning "meadow" or "green field." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals who lived in or near a lush, verdant area.

Abela is considered a quintessentially Maltese surname, with its roots tracing back to the medieval era when Malta was under Islamic rule. During this period, Arabic was the predominant language, and many names and surnames were influenced by the Arabic culture and language.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Abela can be found in the Militia Roster of 1419-1420, a historical document that lists the names of Maltese men eligible for military service. This record provides valuable insight into the prevalence of the name during that time period.

Throughout the centuries, the Abela surname has been represented in various historical documents and records. In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this name was Giovanni Francesco Abela, a prominent Maltese historian and author born in 1582. His seminal work, "Della Descrittione di Malta," published in 1647, is considered one of the earliest and most comprehensive historical accounts of Malta.

Another prominent individual with the Abela surname was Girolamo Abela, a Maltese architect and military engineer who lived in the 17th century. He is renowned for his contributions to the fortifications of Malta, including his work on the Cottonera Lines, a series of fortifications built to protect the Three Cities of Malta.

In the 19th century, Salvatore Abela, born in 1836, was a Maltese politician who served as the Mayor of Valletta, Malta's capital city, from 1881 to 1887. He played a significant role in the city's development and infrastructure projects during his tenure.

The Abela surname has also been associated with several notable places in Malta. For instance, the village of Ħal Għaxaq was formerly known as Ħal Abela, suggesting a historical connection between the surname and the locality.

While the surname Abela is predominantly found in Malta, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, its roots can be traced back to the small Mediterranean island, where it has been a part of the cultural fabric for centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abela

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Abela, 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!