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

Alwan, 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 Alwan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alwan in America

Alwan is the 36154th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alwan surname appeared 620 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 Alwan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alwan 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 Alwan

The surname ALWAN is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the region of the Levant, which includes modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. The name is derived from the Arabic word "alwan," which means "colors" or "hues," suggesting a possible connection to occupations involving dyeing or weaving.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ALWAN can be found in a manuscript from the 11th century, which mentions a scholar and poet named Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Alwan, who lived in present-day Lebanon during the Fatimid Caliphate. This historical reference suggests that the surname was already well-established in the region at that time.

In the 13th century, a prominent figure named Shams al-Din al-Alwan served as a high-ranking judge and legal scholar in the Ayyubid Sultanate, which ruled over parts of modern-day Syria, Egypt, and Yemen. His full name, Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Alwan, is recorded in several legal documents and historical texts from that period.

During the Ottoman Empire era, the ALWAN surname appeared in various regions under Ottoman rule, including the Levant, Anatolia, and the Balkans. One notable figure was Mehmed Alwan, a 17th-century Ottoman architect who designed several mosques and public buildings in Istanbul and other parts of the Empire.

In the 19th century, a Lebanese Christian poet and writer named Ibrahim al-Alwan gained recognition for his contributions to Arabic literature. He was born in 1829 in the town of Zahle, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, and passed away in 1899.

Another prominent individual with the ALWAN surname was Muhammad Alwan al-Ayyubi, an Iraqi politician and military leader who played a significant role in the Iraqi Revolt against the British Mandate in the early 20th century. He was born in 1892 and died in 1965.

It is worth noting that the ALWAN surname has also been found in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, potentially indicating migration patterns or shared linguistic roots. However, its origins can be traced back to the Levant region, where it has a rich historical presence spanning several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alwan

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

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

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

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