Arras last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Arras

A surname originating from the city of Arras in northern France.

Arras, 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 Arras surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arras in America

Arras is the 25255th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arras surname appeared 981 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 Arras.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arras 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank2525526419-4.51%
Count98186912.11%
Proportion per 100k0.330.323.08%

The history of the last name Arras

The surname Arras originated in Northern France, specifically in the city of Arras located in the Pas-de-Calais department. The name dates back to the Middle Ages, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 12th century.

The name Arras is believed to be derived from the Latin word "Atrebates," which was the name of a Celtic tribe that inhabited the region around modern-day Arras during ancient times. The city of Arras itself was founded by the Romans and named "Nemetocenna" before being renamed "Arras" in the 4th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no recorded instances of the surname Arras. However, the name appears in various other medieval records and documents from the 12th century onwards.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Arras was Guillaume d'Arras, a French poet and trouvère who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Another notable bearer of the name was Jean d'Arras, a 14th-century French writer and historian who authored the romance "Mélusine."

In the 15th century, a family named Arras played a significant role in the political and military affairs of France. Jean d'Arras (1390-1457) was a French nobleman and military commander who served under King Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War. His son, Jean II d'Arras (1420-1492), was also a prominent military leader and served as the Governor of Normandy.

During the 16th century, a famous bearer of the surname Arras was François d'Arras (1530-1604), a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings, including the Grand Ferrare in Fontainebleau.

As the name Arras spread beyond its original region of origin, variations in spelling emerged, such as Arras, Arraz, and Arraze. However, the original spelling of Arras remained the most common throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arras

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

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 Arras was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only48.11%472
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin50.76%498

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 Arras has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White48.11%55.93%-15.03%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic50.76%43.27%15.93%

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

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

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