2000
#25,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 922
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Rare Last name
Afzal
A Persian surname meaning "superior," "better," "higher in rank," or "more excellent."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,558 Americans carry the last name Afzal. That puts it at #13,139 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,993 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Afzal surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Afzal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,993
Census rank
#13,139
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,231 bearers of the surname Afzal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13139th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Afzal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.2%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Afzal
The surname Afzal originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Middle East. It first appeared around the 7th century CE during the Islamic Golden Age, when Arabic was the dominant language of the region.
Afzal is derived from the Arabic word 'afzal', which means 'superior', 'better', or 'most excellent'. It was likely initially used as an honorific title or a descriptive surname to denote someone of high esteem or exceptional qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Afzal can be found in the writings of Al-Jahiz, a prominent Arab prose writer and Islamic scholar who lived in the 9th century CE. He mentioned an individual named Abu Muhammad al-Afzal in his works, indicating the use of Afzal as a surname during that era.
In the 11th century, the name Afzal appeared in the Ghaznavid dynasty, which ruled over parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. One notable figure was Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi's vizier, Ahmad bin Hasan Maimandi, who was also known as Al-Afzal al-Bakharzai.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Afzal was relatively common among the nobility and scholars in the Indian subcontinent. One prominent individual was Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian-origin military leader and prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, who was also known as Afzal Khan (1549-1626).
Another notable historical figure with the surname Afzal was Mirza Muhammad Afzal Beg, a 17th-century Mughal nobleman and the governor of Kashmir under Emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707).
In the 19th century, the name Afzal was also found among the intellectual and literary circles of the Indian subcontinent. One such figure was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Bahadur (1817-1898), a Muslim philosopher and social reformer who founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, which later became Aligarh Muslim University.
Over time, the surname Afzal has spread to various parts of the world, particularly through migration and diaspora communities from the Middle East and South Asia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Afzal
Among Census respondents with the surname Afzal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.2%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Afzal bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Afzal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander83.2% · 1,856
- White6.7% · 150
- Two or more races5.6% · 124
- Black or African American3.5% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Afzal
Afzal appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#17,319
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,634
+712 bearers (+77.2%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Up 7,902 places
2020
#13,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,231
+597 bearers (+36.5%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 4,180 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,221 | 922 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,319 | 1,634 | 0.55 | +712 bearers (+77.2%) | Up 7,902 places |
| 2020 | #13,139 | 2,231 | 0.75 | +597 bearers (+36.5%) | Up 4,180 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Afzal surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #17,319 | #13,139 | 24.1% |
| Count | 1,634 | 2,231 | 36.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.75 | 35.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Afzal bearers went from 1,634 to 2,231 (+36.5% change). The surname moved up 4,180 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,319 to #13,139.
FAQ
Afzal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Afzal?
Name Census estimates that about 2,558 living Americans carry the surname Afzal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,993 residents.
How common is Afzal?
Afzal ranks #13,139 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,231 people with the surname Afzal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Afzal.
Has Afzal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Afzal went from 1,634 recorded bearers to 2,231. That is an increase of 597 (+36.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,319 to #13,139.
What does the Census say about the background of Afzal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Afzal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.2%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Afzal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (1,856 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Afzal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (83.2%), White (6.7%), Two or More Races (5.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Afzal (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Afzal mean?
A Persian surname meaning "superior," "better," "higher in rank," or "more excellent." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Afzal (0.75 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Afzal?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.