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

Iqbal, 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 Iqbal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Iqbal in America

Iqbal is the 5970th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Iqbal surname appeared 5,764 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Iqbal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Iqbal 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 Iqbal

The surname IQBAL has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the regions that are now part of modern-day Pakistan and India. It is derived from the Arabic word "iqbal," which means "prosperity" or "good fortune."

IQBAL is believed to have emerged as a surname during the Mughal Empire in the 16th-17th century CE. The Mughals, who were of Turkic-Mongol descent, ruled over a vast territory in the Indian subcontinent and brought with them a rich cultural and linguistic heritage, including the Arabic and Persian languages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname IQBAL can be found in the works of the renowned Sufi poet and philosopher, Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938). Born in Sialkot, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Iqbal is widely regarded as the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan" and played a pivotal role in the movement for the creation of a separate Muslim state.

Another prominent figure bearing the surname IQBAL was Javaid Iqbal (1924-2015), a Pakistani jurist and legal scholar who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from 1980 to 1989.

In India, the name IQBAL has been associated with several notable individuals, such as Shaista Suhrawardy Iqbal (1919-2000), an Indian politician and diplomat who served as the first female High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.

The surname IQBAL has also been linked to several place names in the Indian subcontinent. For instance, Iqbalpur, a town in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, India, is believed to be named after a local landowner with the surname IQBAL.

Over the centuries, various spelling variations of the surname IQBAL have emerged, including Iqbal, Ikbal, and Iqbaal. These variations can be attributed to regional linguistic differences and the influence of other languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent.

While the surname IQBAL has its roots in the Muslim community of South Asia, it has gained recognition and prominence across various regions and cultures around the world, reflecting the rich diversity and historical significance of this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Iqbal

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

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

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

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