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

Dayan, 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 Dayan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dayan in America

Dayan is the 28746th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dayan surname appeared 828 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 Dayan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dayan 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 Dayan

The surname DAYAN is believed to have originated from the Arabic word "Dayan" which means "religious judge" or "jurist". The name is thought to have first emerged in the Middle East, particularly in regions with significant Arab populations such as Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.

The earliest recorded instances of the name DAYAN can be traced back to the 12th century, where it was used to refer to individuals who held positions of authority within Islamic legal systems. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Abu al-Walid Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd, better known as Averroes (1126-1198), a renowned Andalusian philosopher and jurist.

In the 14th century, the name DAYAN appeared in various historical records and manuscripts from the Ottoman Empire. During this period, the name was often associated with influential religious scholars and legal experts. One notable figure was Molla Fenari (1350-1431), a renowned jurist and scholar who served as the Chief Judge of the Ottoman Empire.

As the Ottoman Empire expanded, the name DAYAN spread to other regions, including the Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe. In the 16th century, the name can be found in records from the Principality of Wallachia (present-day Romania), where it was associated with individuals of Arab or Turkish descent who held positions within the local administrative and legal systems.

In the 18th century, the DAYAN name gained prominence in the Levant region, particularly in what is now Syria and Lebanon. One influential figure was Sheikh Ahmad al-Dayan (1730-1807), a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Damascus who played a significant role in preserving and promoting Islamic teachings and legal traditions.

Another notable bearer of the DAYAN surname was Asad Pasha al-Dayan (1765-1820), a Syrian-born Ottoman statesman and military leader who served as the Governor of Damascus and played a crucial role in the region's affairs during the early 19th century.

As the centuries progressed, the DAYAN name continued to be associated with individuals from the Middle East, particularly those with ties to the legal and religious spheres. While the name has since spread to various parts of the world, its origins can be traced back to the rich cultural and intellectual traditions of the Arab world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dayan

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

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

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

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