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

Ari, 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 Ari surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ari in America

Ari is the 67747th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ari surname appeared 291 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 Ari.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ari 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 Ari

The surname Ari has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the region of Tamil Nadu in southern India. It can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the reign of the Pallava dynasty. The name is derived from the Tamil word "Ari," which means "river" or "stream." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have lived near a river or were associated with a water body.

In ancient Tamil literature, references to individuals bearing the surname Ari can be found in inscriptions and manuscripts dating back to the 8th century CE. One of the earliest recorded examples is an inscription from the Kailasanatha Temple in Kanchipuram, which mentions a person named Ari Varman, who was a nobleman during the Pallava period.

The Ari surname has also been linked to certain place names in Tamil Nadu, such as Ariyalur, which was a prominent town during the Chola empire (9th to 13th century CE). It is believed that the name Ariyalur may have originated from the Tamil words "Ari" and "Ur," meaning "river town."

Among notable historical figures with the surname Ari, one can mention Ari Bhatta (476-550 CE), a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and trigonometry. Another important figure is Ari Dasa (16th century CE), a renowned Tamil poet and composer who authored several works on Vaishnavism, a branch of Hinduism.

In the field of arts and literature, Ari Krishnamurthi (1928-2012) was a prominent Indian writer and journalist who received the Sahitya Akademi Award, India's highest literary honor, for his novel "Prathidwani" in 1972. Ari Kundrathillam (1936-2017) was a renowned Malayalam poet and translator, known for his works that blended traditional and modern styles.

Ari Sitas (born 1957) is a South African sociologist and academic who has made significant contributions to the study of labor movements and social movements in South Africa. He has authored several books and articles on these topics.

It is important to note that while the surname Ari has its roots in India, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ari

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

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

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

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