2000
#16,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,548
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.57
Rare Last name
Ahmadi
Derived from Ahmad, an Arabic patronymic surname referring to a descendant of Prophet Muhammad's praised namesake.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,198 Americans carry the last name Ahmadi. That puts it at #7,112 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,940 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ahmadi 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 Ahmadi with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.2K
1 in 65,940
Census rank
#7,112
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,533 bearers of the surname Ahmadi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7112th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ahmadi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (35.1%) and Two or More Races (17.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ahmadi
The surname Ahmadi has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in areas of modern-day Iran, Iraq, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Ahmad," which means "highly praised" or "praiseworthy." It is believed to have emerged as a surname during the early Islamic period, around the 7th or 8th century CE.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Ahmadi can be found in historical texts and manuscripts from the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled a significant portion of the Middle East and North Africa from 750 to 1258 CE. These texts often mentioned individuals with the surname Ahmadi, indicating their connection to the name Ahmad or their descent from a notable person with that name.
In the 10th century CE, an influential Persian scholar and philosopher named Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi, also known as Al-Farabi Ahmadi, made significant contributions to the fields of logic, philosophy, and mathematics. He was born in Farab (modern-day Kazakhstan) in 870 CE and died in Damascus in 950 CE.
Another notable figure with the surname Ahmadi was Abdallah ibn Ayyash al-Ahmadi, a 12th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer from Seville, Spain. He is known for his work on the construction of astronomical instruments and his contributions to the development of trigonometry.
During the medieval period, the surname Ahmadi was also associated with certain place names in the Middle East. For example, there was a town called Ahmadi in modern-day Iran, located in the province of Khuzestan. Some individuals may have adopted the surname Ahmadi to indicate their origin from this town or its surrounding areas.
In the 16th century, an influential Persian poet and philosopher named Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ahmadi, also known as Ahmadi Heravi, gained recognition for his literary works. He was born in Herat, Afghanistan, in 1481 CE and died in 1553 CE.
Another notable figure with the surname Ahmadi was Ali ibn Ahmad al-Ahmadi, a 17th-century Arab scholar and historian from Baghdad, Iraq. He is known for his writings on the history and culture of the Abbasid Caliphate and its capital, Baghdad.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the surname Ahmadi, highlighting its deep roots and historical significance in various regions of the Middle East and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ahmadi
Among Census respondents with the surname Ahmadi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (35.1%) and Two or More Races (17.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Ahmadi 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 Ahmadi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander45.1% · 2,043
- White35.1% · 1,590
- Two or more races17.1% · 775
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 92
- Black or African American0.7% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ahmadi
Ahmadi 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
#13,344
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,285
+737 bearers (+47.6%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 3,600 places
2020
#7,112
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,533
+2,248 bearers (+98.4%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Up 6,232 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,944 | 1,548 | 0.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,344 | 2,285 | 0.77 | +737 bearers (+47.6%) | Up 3,600 places |
| 2020 | #7,112 | 4,533 | 1.52 | +2,248 bearers (+98.4%) | Up 6,232 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 Ahmadi 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 | #13,344 | #7,112 | 46.7% |
| Count | 2,285 | 4,533 | 98.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 1.52 | 97.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ahmadi bearers went from 2,285 to 4,533 (+98.4% change). The surname moved up 6,232 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,344 to #7,112.
FAQ
Ahmadi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ahmadi?
Name Census estimates that about 5,198 living Americans carry the surname Ahmadi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,940 residents.
How common is Ahmadi?
Ahmadi ranks #7,112 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,533 people with the surname Ahmadi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,198), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Ahmadi.
Has Ahmadi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ahmadi went from 2,285 recorded bearers to 4,533. That is an increase of 2,248 (+98.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,344 to #7,112.
What does the Census say about the background of Ahmadi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ahmadi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 45.1%. The next largest groups are White (35.1%) and Two or More Races (17.1%). 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 Ahmadi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (2,043 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ahmadi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (45.1%), White (35.1%), Two or More Races (17.1%). 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 Ahmadi (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 Ahmadi mean?
Derived from Ahmad, an Arabic patronymic surname referring to a descendant of Prophet Muhammad's praised namesake. 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 Ahmadi (1.52 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 Americans have the surname Ahmadi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.