2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Daftari
A surname of South Asian origin, potentially derived from "daftar" meaning office or register.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Daftari. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Daftari 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.
Bearers in the US
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Daftari in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Daftari, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.1%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Daftari
The surname Daftari is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the regions of present-day India and Pakistan. The name is derived from the Persian word "daftar," which means "office" or "register." This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who were employed in administrative or clerical roles, such as record-keepers or scribes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Daftari can be traced back to the 16th century during the Mughal Empire, which ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th to the mid-19th century. During this period, the Mughals employed a vast bureaucracy, and individuals with surnames like Daftari may have held positions in the imperial administration.
In the 17th century, the name Daftari appeared in various official documents and records maintained by the Mughal court. One notable individual bearing this surname was Mirza Abdul Baqi Daftari, a prominent poet and calligrapher who lived during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707).
As the British East India Company established its presence in India in the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Daftari was also found in records and documents maintained by the colonial administration. For instance, Ghulam Haider Daftari (1767-1842) was a prominent Persian scholar and linguist who worked as a translator for the British East India Company.
Another notable figure with the surname Daftari was Mirza Muhammad Rafi Daftari (1795-1868), a renowned Persian poet and scholar who served as the court poet to the Nawab of Awadh (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the 19th century.
In the 20th century, the name Daftari continued to be present in various parts of South Asia. One notable individual was Maulana Mohammad Zaid Daftari (1901-1972), a prominent Islamic scholar and theologian from Pakistan who played a significant role in the country's religious and educational institutions.
Over time, individuals with the surname Daftari have migrated to different parts of the world, carrying their ancestral name and contributing to the cultural diversity of various societies. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the Indian subcontinent, where it was associated with administrative and clerical roles during the eras of the Mughal Empire and British colonial rule.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daftari
Among Census respondents with the surname Daftari, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.1%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Daftari 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 Daftari surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.1% · 68
- White37.0% · 44
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Daftari
Daftari appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+15 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,256 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 13,256 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 Daftari 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 | #156,044 | #142,788 | 8.5% |
| Count | 104 | 119 | 14.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Daftari bearers went from 104 to 119 (+14.4% change). The surname moved up 13,256 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #142,788.
FAQ
Daftari surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Daftari?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Daftari. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Daftari?
Daftari ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Daftari. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Daftari.
Has Daftari become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Daftari went from 104 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 15 (+14.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Daftari?
Among Census respondents with the surname Daftari, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.1%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Daftari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.1% (68 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Daftari appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (57.1%), White (37.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Daftari (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 Daftari mean?
A surname of South Asian origin, potentially derived from "daftar" meaning office or register. 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 Daftari (0.04 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 common is the surname Daftari?
Want to know how many people have the last name Daftari? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.