2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Arians
A surname originating from Arianism, a Christian heresy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Arians. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arians 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Arians in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arians, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arians
The surname Arians traces its origins to the ancient Armenian region, where it was derived from the word "Aryan," referring to a group of Indo-European peoples who settled in various parts of Eurasia. The name is believed to have emerged around the 6th century BCE, during the height of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over Armenia and neighboring territories.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Arians name can be found in the Behistun Inscription, a monumental rock relief commissioned by the Persian king Darius the Great in the 5th century BCE. This inscription, carved into a cliff face in present-day Iran, mentions several Armenian nobles bearing variations of the Arians name.
During the Middle Ages, the Arians name gained prominence in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a state established by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk Turkish invasions. Notable figures from this period include Hethum Arians, a 13th-century Armenian historian and scholar, and Sempad Arians, a 14th-century nobleman and military commander.
As the Armenian diaspora spread across Europe and the Middle East, the Arians name traveled along with it. In the 17th century, a branch of the family settled in the Venetian Republic, where they became prominent merchants and traders. One member, Minas Arians (1608-1673), was a renowned composer and musician, renowned for his contributions to the development of Armenian liturgical music.
In the 19th century, Arians immigrants began arriving in the United States, bringing their surname with them. One notable figure from this era was Arshag Arians (1842-1901), a writer and activist who played a pivotal role in the Armenian national liberation movement against Ottoman rule.
Another prominent individual with the Arians surname was Mikael Arians (1874-1935), a Russian-Armenian writer and playwright whose works explored themes of identity, cultural preservation, and the Armenian experience in the diaspora.
Throughout its long history, the Arians name has been associated with various place names and geographical locations, including the city of Arian in present-day Turkey, which was once a center of Armenian culture and trade. The name has also been recorded in historical documents from various regions, including the Armenian Highland, the Caucasus, and parts of Europe and the Middle East, reflecting the far-reaching diaspora of the Armenian people.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arians
Among Census respondents with the surname Arians, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Arians 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 Arians surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arians
Arians 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+13 bearers (+12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,768 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,355 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.4%) | Up 3,768 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,355 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 Arians 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 | #141,140 | #146,495 | -3.8% |
| Count | 118 | 114 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arians bearers went from 118 to 114 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,355 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #146,495.
FAQ
Arians surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arians?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Arians. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Arians?
Arians ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Arians. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Arians.
Has Arians become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arians went from 118 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Arians?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arians, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Arians in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arians appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Hispanic (1.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Arians (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 Arians mean?
A surname originating from Arianism, a Christian heresy. 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 Arians (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 have the surname Arians?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.