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

Afanasyev, 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 Afanasyev surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Afanasyev in America

Afanasyev is the 142108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Afanasyev surname appeared 117 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 Afanasyev.

The history of the last name Afanasyev

The surname Afanasyev is of Russian origin, originating from the Russian personal name "Afanasy" which is derived from the Greek name "Athanasios" meaning "immortal" or "eternal." This patronymic surname emerged in the Middle Ages, indicating descent from an ancestor named Afanasy.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Afanasyev can be traced back to the 15th century in various regions of Russia. One notable example is found in the Novgorod birch bark manuscripts, where the name Afanasyev is mentioned in a document dated to the late 15th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Afanasyev became more widespread across Russia, particularly in the regions of Novgorod, Moscow, and Pskov. Several historical figures bore this surname, including Afanasy Afanasyev (1700-1776), a prominent Russian merchant and philanthropist from Moscow.

In the 19th century, the Afanasyev surname gained further recognition due to the work of Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826-1871), a renowned Russian folklore scholar who collected and published a vast collection of Russian folk tales, many of which are still widely read and studied today.

Another notable individual with the surname Afanasyev was Mikhail Afanasyevich Afanasyev (1870-1942), a Russian painter and artist who was part of the avant-garde art movement in the early 20th century.

In the field of literature, the name Afanasyev is associated with Viktor Petrovich Afanasyev (1922-1994), a prominent Soviet and Russian writer who authored numerous novels and short stories, many of which explored themes of World War II and the Russian Revolution.

Beyond Russia, the surname Afanasyev has also been found in other Slavic countries, such as Belarus and Ukraine, where it has been adapted to local spellings and pronunciations.

While the surname Afanasyev is not among the most common surnames in Russia today, it holds a significant place in the country's cultural and historical heritage, particularly in the realms of folklore, art, and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Afanasyev

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

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 Afanasyev 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.

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

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

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