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

Gebru, 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 Gebru surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gebru in America

Gebru is the 42237th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gebru surname appeared 514 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 Gebru.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gebru 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 Gebru

The surname GEBRU is of Ethiopian origin, with its roots dating back to the early medieval period of the Aksumite Empire (100-940 AD). The name is derived from the ancient Ge'ez language, which was the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the official language of the Aksumite Kingdom.

According to linguistic scholars, the name GEBRU is believed to have originated from the Ge'ez word "ገብር" (gebr), which means "servant" or "slave". This suggests that the surname may have initially been associated with individuals who were servants or slaves in the imperial court or households of noble families during the Aksumite era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GEBRU can be found in the 14th-century manuscript known as the "Kebra Nagast" (The Glory of Kings), a semi-historical account of the origins of the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia. The manuscript mentions a character named "Gebru Mesqel", who was a prominent court official during the reign of Emperor Kaleb (circa 515-542 AD).

In the 16th century, the name GEBRU is mentioned in the writings of the Portuguese Jesuit missionary, Father Pedro Páez, who visited the Ethiopian Empire during the reign of Emperor Susenyos I (1607-1632). Páez documented the presence of several individuals bearing the surname GEBRU among the nobility and clergy of the time.

Over the centuries, the surname GEBRU has been associated with several notable figures in Ethiopian history, including:

1. Gebru Giyorgis (born c. 1700), a renowned Ethiopian scholar and theologian who authored several influential works on the Ethiopian Orthodox faith.

2. Gebru Azmatch Welde Maryam (1809-1865), a prominent military leader and governor during the reign of Emperor Tewodros II.

3. Gebru Desta (1920-1981), a prominent Ethiopian playwright and poet who played a significant role in the development of modern Amharic literature.

4. Gebru Mersha (1929-2008), an esteemed Ethiopian historian and academic who made significant contributions to the study of Ethiopian history and culture.

5. Gebru Asrat (born 1945), a renowned Ethiopian athlete who won numerous medals in long-distance running events, including the marathon, during the 1960s and 1970s.

The surname GEBRU has also been associated with various place names and localities within Ethiopia, such as the town of Gebru in the Tigray region and the village of Gebru Asmera in the Amhara region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gebru

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

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

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

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