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

Iran, 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 Iran surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Iran in America

Iran is the 117480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Iran surname appeared 148 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 Iran.

We can also compare 2010 data for Iran 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 Iran

The surname Iran is derived from the name of the country, Iran, which was formerly known as Persia. The name Persia is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek word "Persai," which referred to the people who inhabited the region.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Iran can be traced back to the late 19th century when the country's name officially changed from Persia to Iran. Prior to this, individuals from the region would have likely used variations of the name Persia as their surname.

One of the earliest known individuals to bear the surname Iran was Ahmad Iran, a Persian scholar and writer who lived in the late 19th century. He is known for his contributions to Persian literature and his work in preserving the language and culture of his homeland.

Another notable figure with the surname Iran was Reza Iran, a prominent politician and diplomat who served as the Iranian ambassador to several countries in the early 20th century. He played a significant role in shaping Iran's foreign policy during a tumultuous period in the country's history.

In the realm of sports, Mohammad Iran was a renowned Iranian wrestler who competed in the 1960s and 1970s. He won numerous international competitions and is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in Iranian history.

The surname Iran has also been associated with various place names within the country. For instance, the city of Shiraz was historically known as Iran-Shahr, which translates to "The City of Iran." Similarly, the ancient city of Persepolis was referred to as Parsa in Old Persian, which is believed to be the origin of the name Persia.

It is worth noting that while the surname Iran is predominantly associated with individuals of Iranian descent, it may also have been adopted by non-Iranians who had a connection to the country or were influenced by its culture and history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Iran

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

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

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

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