2000
#28,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Rare Last name
Attia
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "gift" or "present".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,058 Americans carry the last name Attia. That puts it at #15,667 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,547 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Attia 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 Attia with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 166,547
Census rank
#15,667
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,795 bearers of the surname Attia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15667th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Attia, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Attia
The surname Attia has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in Arab regions. It is an Arabic name that can be traced back to the medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries AD. The name is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "Atta," which means "gift" or "blessing."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Attia surname can be found in historical documents from the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over vast territories spanning from North Africa to Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries. It is mentioned in various manuscripts and records from this period, indicating its presence among the Arab population.
During the Middle Ages, the Attia name was particularly prevalent in regions like Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. It is also believed to have been carried by Arab settlers and traders who migrated to other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, contributing to its spread across the region.
In later centuries, the Attia surname can be found in historical records from various parts of the Ottoman Empire, which controlled much of the Middle East and North Africa from the 14th to the early 20th century. This suggests that the name continued to be used and passed down through generations during this period.
Some notable individuals who bore the Attia surname throughout history include:
1. Abul Hasan Ali ibn Attia al-Andalusi (1035-1109), a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer from modern-day Spain.
2. Attia ibn Amr al-Kindi (801-873), an Arab philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of optics and chemistry.
3. Yusuf Attia (1905-1983), an Egyptian actor and filmmaker who was considered one of the pioneers of the Egyptian cinema industry.
4. Attia Hosain (1913-1998), a renowned Indian novelist and writer who was part of the Progressive Writers' Movement in undivided India.
5. Attia Inayatullah (1934-2018), a Pakistani diplomat and politician who served as Pakistan's Foreign Minister from 1977 to 1978.
It is worth noting that the Attia surname may have been spelled differently in various historical records, depending on the region and language in which it was written. Variations such as Atia, Attiya, or Atiyah were also common.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Attia
Among Census respondents with the surname Attia, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Attia 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 Attia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 1,582
- Two or more races3.8% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 61
- Black or African American2.8% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Attia
Attia 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
#21,272
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,232
+431 bearers (+53.8%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Up 6,870 places
2020
#15,667
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,795
+563 bearers (+45.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 5,605 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,142 | 801 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,272 | 1,232 | 0.42 | +431 bearers (+53.8%) | Up 6,870 places |
| 2020 | #15,667 | 1,795 | 0.60 | +563 bearers (+45.7%) | Up 5,605 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 Attia 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 | #21,272 | #15,667 | 26.3% |
| Count | 1,232 | 1,795 | 45.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.60 | 43.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Attia bearers went from 1,232 to 1,795 (+45.7% change). The surname moved up 5,605 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,272 to #15,667.
FAQ
Attia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Attia?
Name Census estimates that about 2,058 living Americans carry the surname Attia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,547 residents.
How common is Attia?
Attia ranks #15,667 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,795 people with the surname Attia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,058), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Attia.
Has Attia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Attia went from 1,232 recorded bearers to 1,795. That is an increase of 563 (+45.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,272 to #15,667.
What does the Census say about the background of Attia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Attia, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Attia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (1,582 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Attia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Attia (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 Attia mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "gift" or "present". 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 Attia (0.60 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 last name Attia?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Attia at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.