2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Anbar
A surname possibly derived from the Arabic name for the Anbar province in Iraq.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Anbar. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Anbar surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Anbar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Anbar, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%) and Black (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Anbar
The surname Anbar is believed to have originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region of ancient Mesopotamia, which is now modern-day Iraq. The name is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "anbār," which means "granary" or "storehouse for grain."
In the early Islamic era, the city of Anbar, located in the Anbar Governorate of Iraq, was an important center for agricultural production and trade. The name Anbar may have been given to families who were involved in the storage or distribution of grain and other agricultural goods in this region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anbar can be found in the writings of medieval Arab historians and geographers, such as al-Tabari and al-Mas'udi, who mentioned the city of Anbar and its significance in the 9th and 10th centuries.
The Anbar surname can also be traced back to several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure is Abu Bakr al-Anbari, a renowned Arab grammarian and linguist who lived in the 9th century. Another prominent bearer of the name was Ibn al-Anbari, a 10th-century Arab scholar and poet from Baghdad.
In more recent times, the Anbar surname has been carried by several influential figures, including Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti, the former President of Iraq (1937-2006), and Nouri al-Maliki, the former Prime Minister of Iraq (born 1950).
Other notable individuals with the surname Anbar include:
1. Faris al-Anbari (1919-2005), an Iraqi painter and sculptor.
2. Abdul-Karim al-Anbari (1899-1964), an Iraqi politician and diplomat.
3. Sabah al-Anbari (born 1948), an Iraqi politician and former member of parliament.
4. Naji al-Anbari (born 1979), an Iraqi football player.
5. Salih al-Anbari (born 1955), an Iraqi author and journalist.
While the surname Anbar has its roots in the Middle East, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and cultural diffusion. However, it remains closely associated with its historical origins in the region of ancient Mesopotamia and the city of Anbar in modern-day Iraq.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anbar
Among Census respondents with the surname Anbar, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%) and Black (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Anbar bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Anbar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 9
- Black or African American6.0% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Anbar
Anbar appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+10 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,358 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 8,358 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Anbar surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #152,628 | #144,270 | 5.5% |
| Count | 107 | 117 | 9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Anbar bearers went from 107 to 117 (+9.3% change). The surname moved up 8,358 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #144,270.
FAQ
Anbar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Anbar?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Anbar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Anbar?
Anbar ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Anbar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Anbar.
Has Anbar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Anbar went from 107 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 10 (+9.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Anbar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Anbar, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%) and Black (6.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Anbar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Anbar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%), Black (6.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Anbar (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Anbar mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Arabic name for the Anbar province in Iraq. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Anbar (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Anbar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.