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

Bey, 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 Bey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bey in America

Bey is the 6265th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bey surname appeared 5,453 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Bey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bey 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 Bey

The surname "Bey" is of Turkish origin and its roots can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire, which ruled a vast territory spanning from Southeast Europe to the Middle East and North Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. The name is derived from the Turkish title "Bey," which means "chieftain" or "leader."

During the Ottoman period, the title "Bey" was bestowed upon high-ranking officials, military commanders, and members of the aristocracy. Those who held this title often adopted it as part of their family name, giving rise to the surname "Bey." The name is particularly prevalent in regions that were once part of the Ottoman Empire, including modern-day Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and the Balkans.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "Bey" can be found in the 16th century, when Mustafa Bey, a renowned Ottoman military commander, played a crucial role in the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes in 1522. Another notable figure from this period was Hüseyin Bey, the governor of Diyarbakır (a city in southeastern Turkey) in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name gained further prominence with the rise of the Kapudan Pasha, or the Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha, born in 1608, was one such Kapudan Pasha who bore the surname "Bey." He played a significant role in the naval campaigns of the Ottoman Empire during the Cretan War against the Venetians.

As the Ottoman Empire expanded its influence, the surname "Bey" spread to various regions under its control. In the 19th century, Mehmed Emin Bey, born in 1807, was a prominent Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the governor of several provinces, including Damascus and Aleppo.

Another notable figure bearing the surname "Bey" was Ziya Gökalp Bey, a Turkish sociologist, writer, and poet who lived from 1876 to 1924. He played a crucial role in shaping the ideological foundations of Turkish nationalism and is considered one of the pioneers of the Turkification movement.

While the surname "Bey" was initially associated with the Ottoman aristocracy and high-ranking officials, over time it became more widely adopted by families across the regions once governed by the Ottoman Empire. Today, the name can be found among people of various backgrounds and ethnicities throughout Turkey, the Balkans, and the Middle East.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bey

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

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

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

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