2000
#22,174
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,087
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.40
Rare Last name
Darwish
A surname referring to a wandering dervish or Sufi mystic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,271 Americans carry the last name Darwish. That puts it at #14,490 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,927 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Darwish 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Darwish with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 150,927
Census rank
#14,490
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,980 bearers of the surname Darwish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14490th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Darwish, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Darwish
The surname Darwish is of Arabic origin, originating from the Middle East and North Africa region. It is derived from the Arabic word "darwish," which means "a mendicant dervish" or "a Sufi mendicant Muslim monk." The name likely emerged during the medieval period when Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, gained prominence in the region.
Historically, the Darwish surname was commonly associated with individuals who were members of Sufi orders or had connections to Sufi practices. These orders played a significant role in the spread of Islam and the preservation of Islamic teachings and cultural traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Darwish name can be found in the writings of the renowned Sufi poet and scholar, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273), who mentioned individuals with the name in his works. Another notable figure was Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh Darwish (1629-1667), a Sufi master and the founder of the Nurbakhshiyya order in Iran.
During the Ottoman Empire, which spanned across parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa from the 14th to the early 20th century, the Darwish surname was quite common among individuals with connections to Sufi orders or those who followed Sufi teachings. One prominent example is Ömer Dervish (1865-1909), a revolutionary figure from present-day Albania who played a significant role in the Albanian National Awakening.
Another notable individual with the Darwish surname was Ismail al-Darwish (1887-1968), a prominent Egyptian judge and legal scholar who served as the Chief Justice of the Egyptian Court of Cassation. He was also a member of the Al-Azhar Islamic Advisory Council and was highly respected for his contributions to Islamic jurisprudence.
In the literary realm, Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008), a Palestinian poet and author, was widely regarded as the national poet of Palestine. His works, which explored themes of Palestinian nationalism, exile, and resistance, gained him international acclaim and recognition as one of the most influential and celebrated Arab poets of the 20th century.
While the Darwish surname has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its origins and historical connections to Sufism and Islamic traditions remain an integral part of its heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darwish
Among Census respondents with the surname Darwish, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Darwish 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 Darwish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.4% · 1,671
- Two or more races5.6% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 77
- Black or African American1.4% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Darwish
Darwish appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#18,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,439
+352 bearers (+32.4%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Up 3,213 places
2020
#14,490
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,980
+541 bearers (+37.6%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 4,471 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,174 | 1,087 | 0.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,961 | 1,439 | 0.49 | +352 bearers (+32.4%) | Up 3,213 places |
| 2020 | #14,490 | 1,980 | 0.66 | +541 bearers (+37.6%) | Up 4,471 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 Darwish 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 | #18,961 | #14,490 | 23.6% |
| Count | 1,439 | 1,980 | 37.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.66 | 35.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Darwish bearers went from 1,439 to 1,980 (+37.6% change). The surname moved up 4,471 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,961 to #14,490.
FAQ
Darwish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Darwish?
Name Census estimates that about 2,271 living Americans carry the surname Darwish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,927 residents.
How common is Darwish?
Darwish ranks #14,490 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,980 people with the surname Darwish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,271), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Darwish.
Has Darwish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Darwish went from 1,439 recorded bearers to 1,980. That is an increase of 541 (+37.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #18,961 to #14,490.
What does the Census say about the background of Darwish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Darwish, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Darwish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (1,671 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Darwish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.4%), Two or More Races (5.6%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Darwish (2000, 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 Darwish mean?
A surname referring to a wandering dervish or Sufi mystic. 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 Darwish (0.66 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 many Americans have the surname Darwish?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.