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

Al, 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 Al surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Al in America

Al is the 40976th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Al surname appeared 532 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 Al.

We can also compare 2010 data for Al 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 Al

The surname "Al" is believed to have originated in the Arab world, specifically in the Middle East and North Africa. It is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "al," which means "the" and is often used as a definite article or prefix in Arabic names.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Al" can be found in medieval Islamic texts and manuscripts. It was commonly used as a prefix in the names of prominent individuals, scholars, and rulers during that time period.

In the 8th century, the renowned mathematician and astronomer, Al-Khwarizmi, whose full name was Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi, made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and algorithms. He was born around 780 CE in the region of modern-day Uzbekistan.

Another notable figure with the surname "Al" was the 12th-century philosopher and physician, Ibn Rushd, also known as Averroes. His full name was Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd Al-Hafid, and he was born in Cordoba, Spain, in 1126 CE.

In the 13th century, the renowned scholar and polymath, Al-Idrissi, whose full name was Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrissi al-Qurtubi, was known for his works on geography and cartography. He was born in Ceuta, Morocco, around 1099 CE.

The surname "Al" has also been associated with various place names in the Arab world. For instance, the city of Aleppo in Syria was historically known as "Halab Al-Shahba," and the region of Al-Andalus in Spain was named after the Vandal tribes that settled there.

Another renowned figure with the surname "Al" was Ibn Battuta, the 14th-century Moroccan explorer and traveler. His full name was Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta Al-Lawati Al-Tanji, and he was born in Tangier, Morocco, in 1304 CE.

While the surname "Al" has its roots in the Arab world, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over time, particularly in areas with significant Arab or Islamic influence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Al

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

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

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

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