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

Aboulafia, 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 Aboulafia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aboulafia in America

Aboulafia is the 152628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aboulafia surname appeared 107 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 Aboulafia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aboulafia 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 Aboulafia

The surname ABOULAFIA originated in the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval period. It is a Sephardic Jewish name derived from the Arabic phrase "Abu al-Afiyah," which translates to "father of good health" or "father of well-being." The name likely originated in the regions of modern-day Spain and Portugal, where Arabic influences were prominent during the Moorish rule.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the ABOULAFIA surname can be found in the 13th-century work "Zohar," a foundational text of Jewish mysticism. The text mentions a Rabbi Abraham ben Samuel Aboulafia, who was a prominent figure in the development of the Kabbalah and lived in Spain during the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

In the 14th century, the name ABOULAFIA appeared in various records and manuscripts from the Iberian Peninsula. During this period, the Jewish population in Spain and Portugal faced persecution and forced conversions, leading many families with the ABOULAFIA surname to seek refuge in other parts of Europe and the Mediterranean region.

One notable figure with the ABOULAFIA surname was Isaac Aboulafia, a 15th-century Kabbalist and philosopher from Portugal. He is known for his work "Menorat ha-Maor" (Lamp of Lights), which explored mystical interpretations of the Torah and Jewish rituals.

In the 16th century, the ABOULAFIA surname spread to other parts of Europe, including Italy and France. Joseph Aboulafia, born in Genoa, Italy, in 1537, was a renowned rabbi and scholar who wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy.

During the 17th century, the ABOULAFIA name appeared in various records from the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the cities of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and Salonica (modern-day Thessaloniki, Greece). One notable figure from this period was Abraham Aboulafia, a 17th-century rabbi and scholar from Salonica, who authored several works on Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the ABOULAFIA surname continued to spread throughout Europe and the Middle East. Haim Aboulafia, born in Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey) in 1760, was a prominent rabbi and author who wrote on various aspects of Jewish law and tradition.

Throughout its history, the ABOULAFIA surname has been associated with scholars, rabbis, and intellectuals within the Jewish community. While its origins can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula, the name has since spread across various regions and cultures, reflecting the rich tapestry of Jewish history and diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aboulafia

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

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

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

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