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

Imam, 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 Imam surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Imam in America

Imam is the 29041st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Imam surname appeared 817 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 Imam.

We can also compare 2010 data for Imam 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 Imam

The surname Imam is believed to have originated in the Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East and North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "imam," which means a religious leader, particularly in the Islamic faith. The name likely emerged during the early centuries of Islam, as a designation for individuals who held the position of an imam or were descendants of influential imams.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Imam can be traced back to medieval Arabic manuscripts and records. In the 11th century, the renowned Islamic scholar and jurist, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), was referred to as "Imam al-Ghazali" in various historical texts, indicating the presence of the surname Imam during that period.

One of the earliest known individuals to bear the surname Imam was Abu Nasr al-Imam (born in the late 10th century), a prominent mathematician and astronomer from Gurganj, Khwarezm (modern-day Uzbekistan). His works, such as the "Kitab al-Majisti" (Book of the Almagest), were highly influential in the development of Islamic astronomy.

In the 13th century, the name Imam appeared in the writings of the famous Arab historian and traveler, Ibn Battuta (1304-1369). He mentioned encountering individuals with the surname Imam during his extensive travels across the Islamic world, suggesting the widespread use of the name in various regions.

Another notable figure with the surname Imam was Ibn al-Imam (1453-1532), a renowned Moroccan scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of logic, theology, and Islamic jurisprudence. His works, such as "Al-Aqida al-Sanusiyya" (The Creed of the Sanusiyyah), were widely studied and influenced subsequent generations of scholars.

In the 19th century, the Sudanese religious leader and founder of the Mahdist movement, Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi (1844-1885), was also known by the surname Imam. His followers referred to him as "al-Imam al-Mahdi" (The Guided Imam), reflecting the significance of the surname Imam in the context of religious leadership.

Other notable individuals with the surname Imam include the Egyptian philosopher and author Zaki Naguib Mahmoud Imam (1905-1975), whose works explored Islamic philosophy and the concept of Arab nationalism, and the Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed Imam (born 1962), who represented Pakistan in international cricket during the 1980s and 1990s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Imam

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

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

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

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