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

Aliff, 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 Aliff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aliff in America

Aliff is the 19097th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aliff surname appeared 1,425 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 Aliff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aliff 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 Aliff

The surname Aliff is believed to have originated in the Middle East, specifically in the regions of modern-day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "alif," which refers to the first letter of the Arabic alphabet and is also a term used to describe a respected or noble person.

The earliest known record of the name Aliff can be traced back to the 12th century, where it appeared in various manuscripts and historical documents from the region. One notable example is the mention of an individual named Ali ibn Aliff in a Yemeni chronicle from the year 1187, which described him as a prominent scholar and poet.

In the following centuries, the name Aliff spread to other parts of the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Middle East, as well as to North Africa and parts of Europe. It is believed that some variations of the name, such as Aliffi and Aliffe, emerged during this time due to regional linguistic differences and transcription errors.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Aliff name in Europe was a Moroccan scholar named Ahmed Al-Aliff, who lived in the city of Granada, Spain, during the 15th century. He was renowned for his expertise in mathematics and astronomy and is credited with contributing to the development of astronomical instruments and calculations.

In the 16th century, the name Aliff appeared in various records from the Ottoman Empire, including tax registers and court documents. One notable figure from this period was Mustafa Aliff, a Turkish diplomat and historian who served as an ambassador to several European courts in the late 1500s.

Another significant figure bearing the Aliff name was Abdul-Qadir Aliff, an 18th-century Yemeni religious scholar and poet. He gained widespread recognition for his literary works and his contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and theology.

During the 19th century, the Aliff surname began to spread more widely across the Middle East and North Africa, with notable individuals such as Ahmed Aliff, an Egyptian politician and reformer who played a role in the early modernization efforts of the country in the mid-1800s.

While the Aliff surname has its roots in the Middle East and North Africa, it has since been adopted by individuals from various cultural backgrounds around the world, reflecting the widespread migration and cultural exchange that has occurred throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aliff

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

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

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

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