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

Chishti, 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 Chishti surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chishti in America

Chishti is the 92358th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chishti surname appeared 199 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 Chishti.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chishti 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 Chishti

The surname "CHISHTI" originates from the Indian subcontinent, specifically from the region of present-day Pakistan and northern India. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th century during the period of the Delhi Sultanate.

The name "CHISHTI" is derived from the Persian word "Chisht," which refers to a small town in the Herat region of present-day Afghanistan. This town was the birthplace of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, a revered Sufi saint and the founder of the Chishti order of Sufism.

The Chishti order played a significant role in the spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent, and many of its followers adopted the surname "CHISHTI" as a mark of their spiritual lineage and association with the order. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical texts and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries.

One notable historical figure with the surname "CHISHTI" was Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), a renowned poet, scholar, and musician who was closely associated with the Chishti order and served as a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, a prominent Sufi saint of the time.

Another important figure was Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (1142-1236), also known as Moinuddin Chishti, who was born in Sistan (present-day Iran) and later settled in Ajmer, India, where he established the first Chishti spiritual center in the subcontinent. He is revered as one of the most influential Sufi saints in the region.

In the 15th century, Shaykh Salim Chishti (1478-1572) was a prominent Sufi saint and spiritual guide who played a crucial role in the spread of the Chishti order in India. He is particularly remembered for his association with the Mughal emperor Akbar, whom he is said to have influenced with his teachings.

During the Mughal era, several individuals with the surname "CHISHTI" held significant positions in the imperial court. One such figure was Mir Sayyid Muhammad Chishti (1587-1668), a renowned scholar and poet who served as a tutor to the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh.

In more recent times, Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti (1837-1926) was a prominent spiritual leader and revered Sufi saint who played a pivotal role in the revival of the Chishti order in the Indian subcontinent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chishti

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

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

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

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