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

Alavi, 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 Alavi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alavi in America

Alavi is the 30277th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alavi surname appeared 773 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 Alavi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alavi 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 Alavi

The surname ALAVI is believed to have originated from the Arabic word "al-'Alawi," which means "the Exalted" or "the Elevated." This name is often associated with individuals claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandson Husayn ibn Ali.

The earliest known use of the ALAVI surname can be traced back to the 7th century CE in the Arabian Peninsula, where it was adopted by families claiming lineage from the Alid dynasty. As Islam spread across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe and Asia, the ALAVI name spread along with it.

In the 11th century, the ALAVI name appeared in various historical records and manuscripts in regions such as Persia (modern-day Iran), Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. One notable example is the "Tadhkirat al-Awliya" by Farid al-Din Attar, a Persian poet and mystic, who mentioned several individuals with the ALAVI surname.

During the Mughal Empire in India, which ruled from the 16th to the 19th century, the ALAVI name was prominent among the nobility and scholarly classes. One famous bearer of this name was Mirza Mohammad Alavi Bihari (1642-1705), a renowned scholar, poet, and calligrapher from Bihar, India.

Another notable figure was Sayyid Alavi Khan (1670-1756), a military commander and statesman who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and later became the Nawab of Arcot in South India.

In the 19th century, the ALAVI surname was found in various parts of the Ottoman Empire, including modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Egypt. One prominent individual from this era was Muhammad al-Alavi (1815-1899), a Moroccan scholar and Sufi leader who founded the Alawiyya order, a Sufi spiritual movement that spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East.

The ALAVI surname has also been recorded in historical documents from regions such as Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, where it was often associated with descendants of Sayyids (those claiming lineage from the Prophet Muhammad) or religious scholars and leaders.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alavi

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

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

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

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