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

Erfani, 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 Erfani surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erfani in America

Erfani is the 120901st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erfani surname appeared 143 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 Erfani.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erfani 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 Erfani

The surname Erfani is believed to have originated in Persia (modern-day Iran) during the ancient times. It is derived from the Persian word "Erfan," which means "wisdom" or "knowledge." The name is thought to have been initially bestowed upon individuals who were considered wise or knowledgeable in their communities.

The earliest recorded instances of the Erfani surname can be traced back to the 9th century CE, during the Islamic Golden Age, a period of significant cultural, scientific, and intellectual advancements in the region. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Abu Nasr al-Erfani, a renowned Persian philosopher and scholar who lived from 845 CE to 920 CE.

In the 11th century, the Erfani name appeared in various manuscripts and historical records from the Seljuk Empire, a medieval Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled over parts of Central Asia and the Middle East. During this period, several notable figures bore the Erfani surname, including Ahmad al-Erfani, a prominent poet and literary figure who lived from 1040 CE to 1110 CE.

As the centuries passed, the Erfani surname spread across various regions of Persia and the broader Middle East. In the 14th century, a renowned Persian mystic and Sufi poet, Hafez Erfani, gained widespread recognition for his poetic contributions to the literary traditions of the time. He lived from 1325 CE to 1389 CE.

During the Safavid Dynasty, which ruled over Persia from 1501 CE to 1736 CE, the Erfani surname was associated with several influential scholars and intellectuals. One such figure was Mirza Mohammad Erfani, a renowned astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1550 CE to 1620 CE and made significant contributions to the field of astronomy.

In more recent times, the Erfani surname has continued to be carried by individuals of Persian descent around the world. One notable example is Mahmoud Erfani, an Iranian-American writer and poet who was born in 1940 and is known for his works exploring themes of exile, identity, and cultural heritage.

Throughout its long history, the Erfani surname has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, including philosophy, literature, astronomy, and the arts, reflecting the name's connection to wisdom and knowledge.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erfani

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

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

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

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