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

Arif, 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 Arif surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arif in America

Arif is the 16662nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arif surname appeared 1,719 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Arif.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arif 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 Arif

The surname "ARIF" is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the Islamic Golden Age. It is derived from the Arabic word "al-arif," meaning "the knowledgeable" or "the wise one." The name was initially used to describe scholars, philosophers, and those who possessed a deep understanding of Islamic teachings and the world around them.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name "ARIF" can be found in the writings of the famous Arab philosopher and theologian, Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD). He used the term "al-arif" to describe individuals who had attained a profound spiritual understanding and closeness to God.

In the 12th century, the name "ARIF" appeared in historical records from the Abbasid Caliphate, where it was used to identify prominent scholars and intellectuals. During this time, the city of Baghdad was a center of learning, and many individuals with the surname "ARIF" were associated with the prestigious House of Wisdom, a prominent academic institution.

Throughout the medieval period, the name "ARIF" was also found in various literary works and manuscripts from the Islamic world. One notable example is the 13th-century Persian poet and mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273 AD), who used the term "arif" in his famous poetic works, such as the Masnavi and the Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi.

The earliest recorded individual with the surname "ARIF" is believed to be Abu Bakr al-Arif (d. 963 AD), a renowned Sufi mystic and scholar from Baghdad. He was known for his profound knowledge of Islamic theology and his contributions to the development of Sufism.

Another notable figure with the surname "ARIF" was Ibn al-Arif (1088-1141 AD), a prominent Andalusian philosopher and mystic from Seville, Spain. He was renowned for his work on the synthesis of Islamic philosophy and Sufism, and his writings had a significant influence on later Islamic thinkers.

During the Ottoman Empire, the surname "ARIF" continued to be associated with scholars and learned individuals. One example is Arif Hikmet Bey (1841-1903), a renowned Ottoman poet, philosopher, and statesman who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1878 to 1879.

In the modern era, the surname "ARIF" has been carried by several prominent figures, including the Pakistani philosopher and writer, Mohammad Arif (1915-1986), and the Indian philosopher and poet, Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), who is widely regarded as the spiritual father of Pakistan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arif

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

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

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

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