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

Durrani, 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 Durrani surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Durrani in America

Durrani is the 36900th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Durrani surname appeared 605 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 Durrani.

We can also compare 2010 data for Durrani 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 Durrani

The surname Durrani originates from the Pashtun ethnic group in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is believed to have derived from the Persian word "durr," meaning pearl or gem, and the Arabic word "durri," meaning silken. The name was first used by the Durrani dynasty, which ruled the Afghan Empire from 1747 to 1826.

The Durrani dynasty was founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani, who unified the Pashtun tribes and established the modern Afghan state. He was born in 1722 in Multan, which is now part of Pakistan, and died in 1772 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His descendants continued to rule the Afghan Empire until it was conquered by the British in the early 19th century.

The name Durrani is mentioned in several historical manuscripts and records from the 18th and 19th centuries, including the works of the Afghan historian Khair-ul-Bayan and the British traveler Mountstuart Elphinstone. It is also found in the Afghan genealogical records known as the "Tawārīkh-e Khānawādagī."

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Durrani is Shah Wali Khan Durrani, who was a prominent Afghan military leader and governor during the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani. He was born in 1737 and died in 1800.

Another notable figure with the Durrani surname is Dost Mohammad Khan Durrani, who was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and served as the Emir of Afghanistan from 1826 to 1839 and again from 1842 to 1863. He was born in 1793 in Kandahar and died in 1863 in Herat, Afghanistan.

Ayub Khan Durrani was a prominent Afghan military leader and statesman who served as the Emir of Afghanistan from 1879 to 1880. He was born in 1857 in Herat and died in 1914 in Iran.

Nadir Khan Durrani was an Afghan military commander and governor who played a significant role in the Afghan-Sikh Wars in the early 19th century. He was born in 1792 in Kandahar and died in 1840 in Balkh, Afghanistan.

Wazir Akbar Khan Durrani was an Afghan military leader and statesman who served as the Wazir (prime minister) of Afghanistan from 1842 to 1845. He was born in 1816 in Kandahar and died in 1845 in Ghazni, Afghanistan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Durrani

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

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

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

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