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

Karakaş, 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 Karakaş surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Karakaş in America

Karakaş is the 64200th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Karakaş surname appeared 310 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 Karakaş.

We can also compare 2010 data for Karakaş 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 Karakaş

The surname KARAKAS is believed to have originated in Turkey, with its roots dating back to the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Turkish word "kara," meaning black or dark, and "kas," which refers to an eyebrow or a furrowed brow. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive term for someone with distinctive dark facial features.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the KARAKAS name can be found in the Ottoman tax records from the late 15th century, where it appears as "Karakas" in the Anatolian region of present-day Turkey. This indicates that the name was already in use during the Ottoman Empire's expansion into the Balkans and the Middle East.

In the 16th century, the KARAKAS name appeared in various historical documents from the region, including court records and land registries. One notable figure from this period was Mehmed Karakas, a prominent Ottoman diplomat and military commander who served under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the early 1500s.

As the Ottoman Empire expanded its reach across the Balkans and into parts of Central Europe, the KARAKAS name began to spread beyond its original Turkish roots. In the 17th century, records show individuals bearing the name in regions such as Bosnia, Bulgaria, and parts of modern-day Greece.

During the 19th century, as the Ottoman Empire's influence waned, the KARAKAS name became more prominent in certain areas of the Balkans. One notable figure from this time was Petko Karakas, a Bulgarian revolutionary and freedom fighter who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from Ottoman rule in the late 1800s.

In the early 20th century, the KARAKAS name continued to spread as people migrated from the Balkans and Turkey to other parts of Europe and beyond. One example is Mustafa Kemal Karakas, a Turkish military officer and statesman who served as the first President of Turkey from 1923 to 1938, playing a pivotal role in the establishment of the modern Turkish republic.

Other notable individuals with the KARAKAS surname include Halil Karakas, a Turkish writer and journalist active in the mid-20th century, and Ayla Karakas, a contemporary Turkish novelist and playwright whose works explore themes of identity and social issues in modern Turkey.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Karakaş

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

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

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

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