Kabbani last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kabbani

A surname derived from the Arabic word "kabban" meaning an innkeeper or tavern-keeper.

Kabbani, 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 Kabbani surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kabbani in America

Kabbani is the 72332nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kabbani surname appeared 269 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 Kabbani.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kabbani 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 72332 82019 -12.55%
Count 269 214 22.77%
Proportion per 100k 0.09 0.08 11.76%

The history of the last name Kabbani

The surname Kabbani originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Middle East. It is believed to have originated in Lebanon, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century.

The name Kabbani is derived from the Arabic word "Kabban," which means a person who sells or deals in dried fruits and nuts. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely merchants or traders involved in the dried fruit and nut trade.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Kabbani surname can be found in the Ottoman tax registers, known as the "Defter-i Mufassal," which were compiled in the late 16th century. These registers documented the names of taxpayers in various regions of the Ottoman Empire, including modern-day Lebanon.

In the 17th century, the Kabbani family was prominent in the city of Tripoli, Lebanon, where they were involved in trade and commerce. One notable figure from this period was Mustafa Kabbani, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in Tripoli during the 1600s.

As the Kabbani family prospered, they began to establish themselves in other parts of the Levant region, including Syria and Palestine. In the 18th century, the Kabbani surname can be found in historical records from the city of Damascus, where members of the family held influential positions in the local government and trade guilds.

One of the most famous individuals with the Kabbani surname was Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998), a renowned Syrian poet and diplomat. He was born in Damascus and gained international recognition for his romantic and political poetry, which often explored themes of love, desire, and Arab nationalism.

Another notable figure was Shaykh Muhammad Rashid Kabbani (1942-2022), a prominent Islamic scholar and Sufi spiritual leader. He was born in Lebanon and later immigrated to the United States, where he founded the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order and authored numerous books on Sufism and Islamic spirituality.

In the 19th century, the Kabbani surname can be found in records from various parts of the Ottoman Empire, including present-day Turkey and Egypt. One significant individual from this period was Mahmoud Kabbani (1850-1923), an Egyptian scholar and writer who played a crucial role in the Egyptian Renaissance movement.

As migration patterns shifted in the 20th century, the Kabbani surname spread to other parts of the world, including Europe, North America, and Australia. Today, individuals with the Kabbani surname can be found in various countries, reflecting the global diaspora of people with roots in the Middle East.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kabbani

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

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 Kabbani was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 89.22% 240
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 6.69% 18
Hispanic Origin 2.97% 8

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 Kabbani has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 89.22% 86.92% 2.61%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 6.69% 11.21% -50.50%
Hispanic 2.97% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Kabbani last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 21, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kabbani-surname-popularity/.

"Kabbani last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kabbani-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 October, 2025

Kabbani last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kabbani-surname-popularity/.

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