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

Girgis, 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 Girgis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Girgis in America

Girgis is the 16108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Girgis surname appeared 1,797 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Girgis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Girgis 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 Girgis

The surname "GIRGIS" is of Egyptian origin, with roots tracing back to the ancient Coptic language spoken by Egyptian Christians. It is believed to derive from the Coptic name "Georgios," which itself is derived from the Greek name "Georgios," meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Girgis" or "Girguis" in various Coptic manuscripts and church records from the 5th to 10th centuries AD. These early mentions often referred to Coptic Christian monks, scribes, or other religious figures who bore the name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Life of St. Samuel the Confessor," a 7th-century Coptic hagiography that mentions a monk named "Girgis" who lived in the Nitrian Desert near Alexandria.

The name also appears in various medieval Arabic sources, where it is often rendered as "Jirjis" or "Jurjus." This Arabic spelling likely reflects the pronunciation of the name by Arabic-speaking Egyptians during the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the 7th century AD.

Notable historical figures with the surname "GIRGIS" include:

1. Girgis al-Makki (11th century), a Coptic scholar and theologian who wrote extensively on Christian theology and philosophy.
2. Girgis ibn al-'Amid (12th century), a Coptic physician and author of medical treatises in Arabic.
3. Girgis ibn Tughj al-Ikhshidi (10th century), a Coptic governor and military commander under the Ikhshidid dynasty in Egypt.
4. Girgis al-Saidawi (14th century), a Coptic scribe and calligrapher known for his beautiful manuscripts.
5. Girgis al-Muqaffa' (8th century), a Coptic scholar and translator who played a significant role in the transmission of Persian literature to the Arabic world.

While the name "GIRGIS" has maintained its presence within the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, it has also spread to other parts of the Middle East and the Coptic diaspora around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Girgis

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

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

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

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