2000
#26,587
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 862
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.32
Rare Last name
Arif
An Arabic surname meaning knowledgeable or wise.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,991 Americans carry the last name Arif. That puts it at #11,534 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,595 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arif 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Arif with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 114,595
Census rank
#11,534
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,608 bearers of the surname Arif in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11534th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arif, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.5%. The next largest groups are White (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arif
Among Census respondents with the surname Arif, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.5%. The next largest groups are White (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Arif 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 Arif surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander79.5% · 2,074
- White12.2% · 319
- Two or more races4.2% · 110
- Black or African American3.1% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arif
Arif 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
#16,662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,719
+857 bearers (+99.4%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Up 9,925 places
2020
#11,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,608
+889 bearers (+51.7%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Up 5,128 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #26,587 | 862 | 0.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,662 | 1,719 | 0.58 | +857 bearers (+99.4%) | Up 9,925 places |
| 2020 | #11,534 | 2,608 | 0.87 | +889 bearers (+51.7%) | Up 5,128 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 Arif 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 | #16,662 | #11,534 | 30.8% |
| Count | 1,719 | 2,608 | 51.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.87 | 50.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arif bearers went from 1,719 to 2,608 (+51.7% change). The surname moved up 5,128 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,662 to #11,534.
FAQ
Arif surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arif?
Name Census estimates that about 2,991 living Americans carry the surname Arif. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,595 residents.
How common is Arif?
Arif ranks #11,534 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,608 people with the surname Arif. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,991), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Arif.
Has Arif become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arif went from 1,719 recorded bearers to 2,608. That is an increase of 889 (+51.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,662 to #11,534.
What does the Census say about the background of Arif?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arif, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 79.5%. The next largest groups are White (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Arif in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (2,074 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arif appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (79.5%), White (12.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Arif (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 Arif mean?
An Arabic surname meaning knowledgeable or wise. 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 Arif (0.87 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 Arif?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.