2000
#15,455
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,740
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Farhat
Derived from Arabic, meaning "joy, happiness, delight, or pleasure."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,022 Americans carry the last name Farhat. That puts it at #11,436 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Farhat 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 Farhat with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,420
Census rank
#11,436
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,635 bearers of the surname Farhat in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11436th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Farhat, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Farhat
The surname Farhat has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the Arab world. It is an Arabic surname derived from the root word "farah," which means joy or delight. The name can be traced back to the early Islamic era, around the 7th century AD.
Historically, the name Farhat was prevalent in regions like Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. It is believed that the name was initially used as a descriptor or a nickname for individuals who exhibited a joyful or cheerful demeanor, before eventually becoming a hereditary surname.
Some of the earliest known records of the Farhat surname can be found in medieval Arabic manuscripts and chronicles. For instance, the 13th-century Syrian historian Ibn al-Athir mentioned a person named Abu al-Farhat in his historical work "Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh" (The Complete History).
In the 14th century, there are references to a prominent Arab scholar and theologian named Shams al-Din al-Farhat, who lived in Damascus and contributed significantly to the fields of Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
The Farhat surname has also been associated with various place names and geographical locations in the Middle East. For example, there is a town called Farhat in the Idlib Governorate of northwestern Syria, which may have influenced the spread and adoption of the surname in that region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Farhat surname was Abu Bakr al-Farhat, a 10th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad. He made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and authored several works on mathematics and astronomy.
In the 12th century, there was a notable Arab philosopher and physician named Ibn al-Farhat, who lived in Andalusia (modern-day Spain) and wrote extensively on topics such as logic, metaphysics, and medicine.
Another prominent figure with the Farhat surname was Muhammad al-Farhat, a 16th-century Ottoman scholar and jurist from Damascus. He was known for his expertise in Islamic law and served as the chief judge (qadi) in several cities across the Ottoman Empire.
During the 19th century, a prominent Arab nationalist and writer named Mikhail Farhat played a significant role in the Arab Renaissance movement (Nahda). He was born in Lebanon in 1825 and was a vocal advocate for Arab unity and cultural revival.
Lastly, in the 20th century, Ismail Farhat was a renowned Syrian artist and sculptor. Born in Aleppo in 1921, he was celebrated for his distinctive style that blended traditional Arab motifs with modern art techniques.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Farhat
Among Census respondents with the surname Farhat, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Farhat 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 Farhat surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 2,180
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.0% · 210
- Two or more races4.3% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 100
- Black or African American1.2% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Farhat
Farhat 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
#13,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,259
+519 bearers (+29.8%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 1,983 places
2020
#11,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,635
+376 bearers (+16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 2,036 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,455 | 1,740 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,472 | 2,259 | 0.77 | +519 bearers (+29.8%) | Up 1,983 places |
| 2020 | #11,436 | 2,635 | 0.88 | +376 bearers (+16.6%) | Up 2,036 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 Farhat 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 | #13,472 | #11,436 | 15.1% |
| Count | 2,259 | 2,635 | 16.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.88 | 14.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Farhat bearers went from 2,259 to 2,635 (+16.6% change). The surname moved up 2,036 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,472 to #11,436.
FAQ
Farhat surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Farhat?
Name Census estimates that about 3,022 living Americans carry the surname Farhat. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,420 residents.
How common is Farhat?
Farhat ranks #11,436 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,635 people with the surname Farhat. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,022), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Farhat.
Has Farhat become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Farhat went from 2,259 recorded bearers to 2,635. That is an increase of 376 (+16.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,472 to #11,436.
What does the Census say about the background of Farhat?
Among Census respondents with the surname Farhat, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Farhat in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (2,180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Farhat appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Farhat (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 Farhat mean?
Derived from Arabic, meaning "joy, happiness, delight, or pleasure." 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 Farhat (0.88 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 people share the surname Farhat?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.