2000
#27,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 816
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Rare Last name
Kazmi
An occupational surname of Arabic origin, referring to a judge or legal advisor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,063 Americans carry the last name Kazmi. That puts it at #15,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,144 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kazmi 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kazmi with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 166,144
Census rank
#15,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,799 bearers of the surname Kazmi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kazmi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kazmi
The surname "KAZMI" has its origins in South Asia, specifically in the regions that are now part of modern-day India and Pakistan. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Qazmi," which means someone from the city of Qazvin or Qazwin, an ancient city located in the northwestern part of present-day Iran.
The Kazmi surname is believed to have its roots in the 11th century, when a large number of people from Qazvin migrated to the Indian subcontinent during the reign of the Ghaznavid Empire. These migrants, known as Qazvinis, settled in various parts of India and gradually adopted the surname Kazmi, which became a common surname among the Muslim community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kazmi surname can be found in the 16th-century Persian manuscript, "Tuzk-e-Jahangiri," written by the Mughal emperor Jahangir. The manuscript mentions a prominent scholar and physician named Hakim Ali Gilani Kazmi, who served in the court of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, and later became a respected figure during Jahangir's reign.
In the 17th century, another notable figure with the Kazmi surname was Shaikh Nizamuddin Kazmi, a Sufi saint and scholar from the Deccan region of India. He was known for his contributions to the Islamic sciences and his writings on Sufism.
During the 18th century, the Kazmi surname gained further prominence with the rise of the Nawab of Awadh dynasty in the northern Indian region of Awadh (present-day Uttar Pradesh). One of the most influential figures from this period was Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula Kazmi, who ruled Awadh from 1775 to 1797 and was known for his patronage of art, architecture, and culture.
Another notable Kazmi from the 19th century was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Kazmi, a renowned Muslim philosopher, educator, and social reformer. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Aligarh Muslim University and is considered one of the most influential figures in the Indian Muslim renaissance.
In the 20th century, one of the most prominent Kazmis was Dr. Rafi Ahmed Kazmi, a Pakistani diplomat and statesman who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1957 to 1958.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kazmi
Among Census respondents with the surname Kazmi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kazmi 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 Kazmi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.4% · 1,537
- White6.3% · 114
- Two or more races5.9% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kazmi
Kazmi appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#20,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,284
+468 bearers (+57.4%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Up 7,117 places
2020
#15,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,799
+515 bearers (+40.1%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 4,996 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,744 | 816 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,627 | 1,284 | 0.44 | +468 bearers (+57.4%) | Up 7,117 places |
| 2020 | #15,631 | 1,799 | 0.60 | +515 bearers (+40.1%) | Up 4,996 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 Kazmi 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 | #20,627 | #15,631 | 24.2% |
| Count | 1,284 | 1,799 | 40.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.44 | 0.60 | 36.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kazmi bearers went from 1,284 to 1,799 (+40.1% change). The surname moved up 4,996 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,627 to #15,631.
FAQ
Kazmi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kazmi?
Name Census estimates that about 2,063 living Americans carry the surname Kazmi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,144 residents.
How common is Kazmi?
Kazmi ranks #15,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,799 people with the surname Kazmi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,063), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kazmi.
Has Kazmi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kazmi went from 1,284 recorded bearers to 1,799. That is an increase of 515 (+40.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #20,627 to #15,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Kazmi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kazmi, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kazmi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (1,537 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kazmi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (85.4%), White (6.3%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Kazmi (2000, 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 Kazmi mean?
An occupational surname of Arabic origin, referring to a judge or legal advisor. 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 Kazmi (0.60 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 many people share the surname Kazmi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.