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

Ananias, 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 Ananias surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ananias in America

Ananias is the 135593rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ananias surname appeared 124 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 Ananias.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ananias 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 Ananias

The surname ANANIAS originates from the Greek name Ananias, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Hananiah, meaning "favored by God" or "God has been gracious." The name's roots can be traced back to ancient Judea and the Middle East.

ANANIAS is believed to have first emerged as a surname during the Byzantine era, particularly among Greek-speaking communities in the Eastern Mediterranean region. It was likely adopted as a surname by individuals who bore the given name Ananias or were descendants of someone with that name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname ANANIAS appears in a 12th-century manuscript from the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, Greece. The document mentions a monk named Ananias, who may have been one of the first to use the name as a family identifier.

In the 14th century, the ANANIAS surname is found in records from the Republic of Venice, which at the time controlled territories in modern-day Greece and the Aegean Islands. This suggests the name had spread to Greek communities under Venetian rule.

During the Ottoman period, the ANANIAS surname was present among Greek communities in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and the Greek islands. Notable individuals from this era include Ananias of Chios (c. 1500-1580), a Greek scholar and philosopher who taught at the Patriarchal School in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).

As the Greek diaspora spread across Europe and the Americas, the ANANIAS surname traveled with them. In the 19th century, Ananias Davitian (1835-1911), an Armenian-American writer and lecturer, popularized the name in the United States.

Other notable figures with the ANANIAS surname include:

• Ananias Elias (1876-1942), a Greek journalist and politician who served as Mayor of Athens from 1934 to 1938.
• Ananias Diogenes (1939-2022), a Greek philosopher and academic who taught at the University of Athens.
• Ananias Petit-Duvallon (1766-1846), a French writer and traveler who visited Greece and published accounts of his journeys.
• Ananias Nunez (1615-1654), a Portuguese playwright and poet active in the Spanish Golden Age literary period.

While the ANANIAS surname has its roots in the Eastern Mediterranean, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange, becoming a part of the diverse tapestry of global surnames.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ananias

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

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

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

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