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

Bektaş, 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 Bektaş surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bektaş in America

Bektaş is the 98099th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bektaş surname appeared 185 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 Bektaş.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bektaş 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 Bektaş

The surname BEKTAS is believed to have originated in Turkey, with roots dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Turkish word "Bektaş," which refers to a town located in the Kırşehir province of central Anatolia. The town itself was named after the famous Sufi mystic Hacı Bektaş Veli, who lived from 1209 to 1271.

In the early days, the name BEKTAS was likely associated with individuals who hailed from or had connections to the town of Bektaş. It is possible that some of the earliest bearers of this surname were followers or disciples of Hacı Bektaş Veli and his teachings, which formed the basis of the Bektashi Order of Sufism.

Historical records from the Ottoman Empire mention the name BEKTAS in various contexts. For instance, the 16th-century Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote about a Bektaş village located in the region of Rumelia (modern-day Balkans). Additionally, the Bektashi Order had a significant presence in several parts of the Ottoman Empire, and it is likely that members of this order carried the surname BEKTAS.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname BEKTAS was Hacı Bektaş Veli himself, who is considered the spiritual founder of the Bektashi Order. Other notable figures include Balım Sultan (born in the late 15th century), a prominent Bektashi dervish and poet, and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli (1648-1738), a Bektashi scholar and author.

In the 19th century, Abdülbaki Efendi (1813-1874), a Bektashi sheikh and renowned calligrapher, held the surname BEKTAS. Another individual of note was İbrahim Bektas (1880-1946), a Turkish poet and writer who was part of the Ottoman literary renaissance.

As the surname spread beyond its place of origin, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged. Examples include Bektash, Bektaşi, and Bektashi, among others. These variations often reflected regional dialects or the influence of other languages in areas where people with the BEKTAS surname settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bektaş

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

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

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

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