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

Alafa, 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 Alafa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alafa in America

Alafa is the 92719th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alafa surname appeared 198 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 Alafa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alafa 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 Alafa

The surname ALAFA is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the time of the Islamic conquests and the spread of the Arabic language across the Middle East and North Africa. It is believed to be derived from the Arabic word "alaf," which means "a thousand," indicating that the name may have been given to someone who had a large family or belonged to a prominent clan.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ALAFA can be found in a manuscript from the 9th century, which mentions an individual named Ali ibn Alafa, who was a merchant and traveler from the city of Basra in modern-day Iraq. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.

In the 11th century, there is a reference to a scholar named Abu al-Hasan al-Alafa, who was born in Cordoba, Spain, and is known for his contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence. This indicates that the name had also spread to the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Islamic rule in that region.

During the 13th century, the name ALAFA appears in several records from the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria. One notable individual was Shams al-Din al-Alafa, who served as a judge and legal scholar in Cairo and wrote several treatises on Islamic law.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Ahmad al-Alafa was a poet and calligrapher who lived in Ottoman Istanbul. His works have been preserved and are considered valuable examples of Ottoman literature and calligraphic art.

Another individual of note was Muhammad ibn Alafa, a 17th-century scholar and historian from Morocco, who wrote extensively on the history and culture of the region. His works are still studied by researchers and historians today.

While the surname ALAFA is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be found in various parts of the Arab world, particularly in countries like Egypt, Iraq, and Syria, where it has deep historical roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alafa

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

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

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

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