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

Chami, 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 Chami surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chami in America

Chami is the 52970th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chami surname appeared 391 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 Chami.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chami 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 Chami

The surname Chami originated in the coastal regions of Morocco during the 11th century. The name is derived from the Arabic word "shami," which means "from Syria" or "Levantine." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were individuals or families who had migrated from the Levant region, which includes modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and parts of Palestine and Jordan, to the coastal areas of Morocco.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Chami surname appears in the records of the Idrisid dynasty, which ruled parts of present-day Morocco from 788 to 974 CE. These records mention a prominent merchant and landowner named Ahmed al-Chami, who lived in the city of Fez during the 10th century.

In the 12th century, the name Chami appeared in various manuscripts and chronicles from the Almohad Caliphate, which ruled over large parts of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. One notable figure was Abu Bakr al-Chami, a renowned scholar and jurist who served as a judge in the city of Marrakesh during the reign of the Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199).

During the 13th century, the Chami surname was associated with the Marinid dynasty, which ruled over Morocco from 1196 to 1465. The Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq (1286-1307) is known to have had a trusted advisor named Muhammad al-Chami, who played a significant role in the administration of the sultanate.

In the 15th century, the Chami surname appeared in the records of the Wattasid dynasty, which ruled over parts of Morocco from 1420 to 1554. One notable figure from this period was Ali al-Chami, a respected scholar and poet who lived in the city of Fez during the reign of Sultan Muhammad al-Burtuqali (1472-1504).

Another prominent individual bearing the Chami surname was Ahmad al-Chami, a renowned Moroccan scholar and traveler who lived in the 16th century. He is known for his extensive travels across North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe, and his writings provided valuable insights into the cultures and societies of the regions he visited.

It is worth noting that the Chami surname has also been found in various historical records from other parts of the Maghreb region, such as Algeria and Tunisia, suggesting that individuals or families with this surname may have migrated or established themselves in these areas over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chami

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

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

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

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