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

Afif, 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 Afif surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Afif in America

Afif is the 107134th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Afif surname appeared 166 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 Afif.

We can also compare 2010 data for Afif 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 Afif

The surname AFIF is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula, likely during the 7th or 8th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word 'afif', which means 'chaste', 'virtuous', or 'pure'. The name was likely given as a descriptive term to someone who was seen as upright and moral in their conduct.

One of the earliest known references to the surname AFIF can be found in a manuscript from the 10th century, which recorded the names of prominent scholars and intellectuals from the Abbasid Caliphate. The manuscript mentions an individual named Abu Bakr al-Afif, who was a renowned poet and philosopher from Basra, in present-day Iraq.

The AFIF surname later spread across the Middle East and North Africa, with records indicating its presence in various regions, including Egypt, Syria, and Morocco. In the 12th century, a scholar named Ibn al-Afif al-Tilmisani, who was born in Tlemcen, Algeria, wrote a celebrated work on Islamic jurisprudence.

As the name traveled westward, it also found its way into the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Moorish rule in parts of Spain and Portugal. One notable figure was Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Afif, a poet and literary critic from Seville who lived in the 12th century.

In the 16th century, an Ottoman traveler and writer named Evliya Çelebi mentioned encountering individuals with the surname AFIF during his travels through Egypt and the Levant region. He described them as being wealthy merchants and landowners.

Another prominent individual with the AFIF surname was Muhammad al-Afif al-Tilmisani, a 17th-century Moroccan scholar and Sufi mystic who wrote extensively on Islamic spirituality and philosophy. His works were widely read and influential across North Africa and the Middle East.

While the AFIF surname has its roots in the Arab world, it has since spread to various other regions and cultures due to migration and cultural exchange. However, its origins can be traced back to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was likely first used as a descriptive term for someone of virtuous character.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Afif

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

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

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