Kawas last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kawas

An Arabic surname possibly derived from the Arabic word "kawash" meaning cups or drinking vessels.

Kawas, 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 Kawas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kawas in America

Kawas is the 76533rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kawas surname appeared 251 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 Kawas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kawas 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 76533 78326 -2.32%
Count 251 227 10.04%
Proportion per 100k 0.09 0.08 11.76%

The history of the last name Kawas

The surname KAWAS is believed to have originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region of modern-day Lebanon and Syria. It can be traced back to the Arabic language, where the word "kawwas" referred to an archer or someone skilled in archery. The name likely emerged as a occupational surname, given to individuals who were proficient in the use of bows and arrows during medieval times.

One of the earliest known references to the name KAWAS can be found in historical records from the 13th century, during the Crusades. It is mentioned in some accounts of battles and skirmishes between the Crusaders and the Muslim armies, where skilled archers played a crucial role on both sides. However, the exact origins and etymology of the name remain subject to debate among scholars.

In the 14th century, the name KAWAS appears in several manuscripts and official documents from the region. For instance, a merchant named Abdallah KAWAS is recorded as having conducted trade transactions in the city of Damascus during this period. Another notable figure with this surname was Ibn KAWAS, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in Cairo, Egypt, in the late 15th century.

As the centuries passed, the KAWAS surname spread beyond the Middle East, with various branches of the family establishing roots in different parts of the world. One prominent individual was Mustafa KAWAS, a military commander who served under the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century. He played a significant role in the Ottoman conquest of Hungary and is mentioned in several historical accounts of the time.

Another noteworthy bearer of the KAWAS surname was Musa KAWAS, a respected Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 17th century. He authored several influential works on Islamic law and jurisprudence, which were widely studied and referenced throughout the Middle East and beyond.

In more recent times, the KAWAS surname has been associated with several notable figures in various fields. For example, Georges KAWAS was a prominent Lebanese writer and poet who lived from 1919 to 2012. His literary works explored themes of identity, exile, and the complexities of the Lebanese diaspora.

Overall, the surname KAWAS has a rich and diverse history, with roots that can be traced back to the medieval period in the Middle East. While its exact origins remain open to interpretation, the name has been carried by numerous individuals of significance throughout the centuries, across various regions and cultural contexts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kawas

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

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 Kawas was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 64.54% 162
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 2.79% 7
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 5.98% 15
Hispanic Origin 26.29% 66

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 64.54% 68.28% -5.63%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.79% 3.08% -9.88%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 5.98% 8.81% -38.27%
Hispanic 26.29% 19.82% 28.06%

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

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

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"Kawas last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 2, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kawas-surname-popularity/.

"Kawas last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kawas-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 August, 2025

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

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