2010
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Jirjis
An Arabic surname derived from the Greek name George.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Jirjis. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jirjis surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Jirjis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jirjis, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jirjis
The surname JIRJIS originates from the Arabic name Jirjis, which is derived from the Greek name Georgios, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". This name has its roots in the Middle East and can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the Islamic conquests of the region.
JIRJIS is a variation of the Arabic name Jirjis, which was commonly used by Arabic-speaking Christians in the Levant region, particularly in modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. The name was adopted by Arab Christians as a translation of the Greek name Georgios, which was popular among early Christians.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name JIRJIS can be found in the writings of St. John of Damascus, a Syrian Christian theologian and monk who lived in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. He was known as Jirjis ibn Mansur in Arabic.
In the 10th century, a prominent Arab Christian writer and historian, Jirjis ibn al-Amid al-Makin, was born in Cairo. He is known for his work on the history of the Coptic Church in Egypt.
During the Crusades, the name JIRJIS was also adopted by some European Christians who had interactions with the Arab world. For instance, Sir George de Jirjis was a Norman knight who fought in the Third Crusade under Richard the Lionheart in the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, Jirjis al-Makdisi, a renowned Arab Christian philosopher and theologian, was born in Jerusalem. He wrote extensively on the reconciliation of Greek philosophy and Christian theology.
Another notable figure with the surname JIRJIS was Jirjis Sida, a Lebanese poet and writer who lived in the 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the Nahda, the Arab literary and cultural renaissance that took place during the Ottoman Empire.
While the surname JIRJIS has its origins in the Middle East, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange. However, it remains most prevalent among Arabic-speaking Christian communities in the Levant region and the diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jirjis
Among Census respondents with the surname Jirjis, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Jirjis bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jirjis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jirjis
Jirjis appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-6 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,821 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 7,821 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jirjis surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #136,449 | #144,270 | -5.7% |
| Count | 123 | 117 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jirjis bearers went from 123 to 117 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 7,821 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #144,270.
FAQ
Jirjis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jirjis?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Jirjis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Jirjis?
Jirjis ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Jirjis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Jirjis.
Has Jirjis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jirjis went from 123 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Jirjis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jirjis, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jirjis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jirjis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jirjis (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jirjis mean?
An Arabic surname derived from the Greek name George. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jirjis (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Jirjis?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Jirjis, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.