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

Amiri, 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 Amiri surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Amiri in America

Amiri is the 21759th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Amiri surname appeared 1,195 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 Amiri.

We can also compare 2010 data for Amiri 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 Amiri

The surname Amiri originates from the Persian language and has its roots in the Middle East, particularly in present-day Iran. The name can be traced back to the 9th century AD during the Islamic Golden Age when Arabic and Persian cultures flourished.

Amiri is derived from the Arabic word "Amir," which translates to "commander" or "prince." It was initially used as a title for high-ranking officials or nobles in the Persian and Ottoman empires. Over time, the title evolved into a hereditary surname, particularly among families with a lineage of leaders or nobility.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amiri can be found in the "Tarikh-e Beyhaghi," a historical chronicle written by the Persian scholar Abu'l-Fazl Beyhaghi in the 11th century. The chronicle mentions several individuals with the surname Amiri who held positions of power and influence during the Ghaznavid dynasty.

In the 13th century, the famous Persian poet and mystic, Farid al-Din Attar, mentioned an individual named Amir Amiri in his seminal work, "The Conference of the Birds." Attar's work is considered a masterpiece of Persian literature and provides insights into the cultural and intellectual landscape of the time.

During the Safavid dynasty in Persia, which ruled from the 16th to the 18th century, the Amiri surname gained prominence among the nobility and military elite. One notable figure from this period was Amir Khan Amiri, a powerful military commander who played a crucial role in the campaigns of Shah Abbas I, one of the most influential rulers of the Safavid Empire.

Another prominent individual with the Amiri surname was Mirza Mohammad Khan Amiri, a renowned Persian diplomat and writer who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He served as an ambassador to several European courts and authored several works, including a travel memoir detailing his experiences in Europe.

In more recent history, Mahmoud Amiri (1907-1988) was a prominent Iranian politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962. He played a significant role in the country's political landscape during the tumultuous years leading up to the Iranian Revolution.

The surname Amiri has also been associated with various notable individuals in fields such as literature, science, and athletics. Some examples include the Iranian writer and poet Sayyed Amiri (1898-1970), the Iranian physicist Gholam-Ali Amiri (born 1957), and the Iranian football player Ali Amiri (born 1992).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Amiri

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

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

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

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