2000
#63,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 293
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Ansara
An arabic surname meaning "the helper" or "the victorious".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 352 Americans carry the last name Ansara. That puts it at #69,002 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 973,734 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ansara 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
352
1 in 973,734
Census rank
#69,002
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
307
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 307 bearers of the surname Ansara in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 69002nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ansara, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ansara
The surname ANSARA has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the Arabic-speaking regions. It is believed to have originated during the medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries CE.
The name ANSARA is derived from the Arabic word "ansar," which means "helper" or "supporter." It was initially used to refer to the inhabitants of Medina who supported the Prophet Muhammad and his followers, known as the Ansar, during the early days of Islam.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ANSARA can be found in historical manuscripts and records from the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled a significant portion of the Middle East from the 8th to the 13th century. It is mentioned in various administrative documents and chronicles from that period.
In terms of notable individuals bearing the surname ANSARA, one of the earliest recorded was Al-Ansari, a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 12th century CE. He was born in Medina and made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another prominent figure with the surname ANSARA was Khalil al-Ansari, a 16th-century poet and scholar from Aleppo, Syria. He was renowned for his mastery of the Arabic language and his poetic works, which were widely celebrated during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, a notable figure named Ibrahim Ansara emerged as a prominent politician and diplomat from Lebanon. He played a crucial role in the negotiations that led to the establishment of the Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon, a semi-autonomous region under Ottoman rule.
Moving to more recent times, one of the most well-known individuals with the surname ANSARA was the American actor Michael Ansara, who was born in 1922 and passed away in 2013. He was of Syrian descent and is best remembered for his roles in various television series, including Star Trek and Broken Arrow.
Another notable person with the ANSARA surname was the Lebanese-American artist and writer Camille Ansara, who was born in 1925 and passed away in 2019. She was known for her abstract paintings and her unique blend of Eastern and Western artistic influences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ansara
Among Census respondents with the surname Ansara, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Ansara 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 Ansara surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 270
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 7
- Two or more races2.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ansara
Ansara appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#62,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 320
+27 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 1,101 places
2020
#69,002
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 307
-13 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 6,471 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #63,632 | 293 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #62,531 | 320 | 0.11 | +27 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 1,101 places |
| 2020 | #69,002 | 307 | 0.10 | -13 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 6,471 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 Ansara 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 | #62,531 | #69,002 | -10.3% |
| Count | 320 | 307 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.10 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ansara bearers went from 320 to 307 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 6,471 positions in the national ranking, going from #62,531 to #69,002.
FAQ
Ansara surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ansara?
Name Census estimates that about 352 living Americans carry the surname Ansara. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 973,734 residents.
How common is Ansara?
Ansara ranks #69,002 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 307 people with the surname Ansara. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (352), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Ansara.
Has Ansara become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ansara went from 320 recorded bearers to 307. That is a decrease of 13 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #62,531 to #69,002.
What does the Census say about the background of Ansara?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ansara, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Ansara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (270 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ansara appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (5.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Ansara (2000, 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 Ansara mean?
An arabic surname meaning "the helper" or "the victorious". 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 Ansara (0.10 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 have the surname Ansara?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.