2000
#6,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,833
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.79
Rare Last name
Khoury
A surname of Middle Eastern origin referring to a member of the clergy or a priest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,884 Americans carry the last name Khoury. That puts it at #5,591 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,790 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Khoury 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 Khoury with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,790
Census rank
#5,591
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,003 bearers of the surname Khoury in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5591st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Khoury, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Khoury
The surname Khoury is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the Middle East, specifically the Levant region comprising modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Khouri," which means "priest" or "clergyman."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Khoury date back to the 12th century, during the Crusades. It is believed that the name was originally used to identify Christian clergymen in the region, who often served as translators and intermediaries between the local population and the crusaders.
One of the earliest known historical references to the Khoury surname can be found in the chronicles of the Crusades, where a priest named Khoury is mentioned as having assisted the Crusaders during the siege of Antioch in 1098.
Throughout the centuries, the Khoury family has produced several notable figures, including:
1. Mansour Khoury (1873-1937), a Lebanese journalist and writer who played a key role in the Arab Renaissance movement.
2. Amin Khoury (1898-1985), a renowned Palestinian educator and writer who founded several schools in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
3. Bechara Khoury (1920-2003), a prominent Lebanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1975 to 1976.
4. Elias Khoury (born 1948), a renowned Lebanese novelist and literary critic, known for his works exploring the complexities of Lebanese society and the Arab world.
5. Walid Khoury (born 1962), a Lebanese-American computer scientist and entrepreneur who co-founded the technology company Citrix Systems.
The Khoury surname has also been associated with various place names in the Levant region, such as Khoury Village in Lebanon and Khoury Quarter in Damascus, Syria, further reinforcing its deep-rooted connection to the Middle East.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Khoury
Among Census respondents with the surname Khoury, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Khoury 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 Khoury surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 5,386
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 333
- Two or more races2.8% · 169
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 54
- Black or African American0.9% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Khoury
Khoury 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
#5,980
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,753
+920 bearers (+19.0%)
Per 100,000 1.95
Rank movement Up 500 places
2020
#5,591
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,003
+250 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 2.01
Rank movement Up 389 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,480 | 4,833 | 1.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,980 | 5,753 | 1.95 | +920 bearers (+19.0%) | Up 500 places |
| 2020 | #5,591 | 6,003 | 2.01 | +250 bearers (+4.3%) | Up 389 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 Khoury 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 | #5,980 | #5,591 | 6.5% |
| Count | 5,753 | 6,003 | 4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.95 | 2.01 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Khoury bearers went from 5,753 to 6,003 (+4.3% change). The surname moved up 389 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,980 to #5,591.
FAQ
Khoury surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Khoury?
Name Census estimates that about 6,884 living Americans carry the surname Khoury. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,790 residents.
How common is Khoury?
Khoury ranks #5,591 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,003 people with the surname Khoury. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,884), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Khoury.
Has Khoury become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Khoury went from 5,753 recorded bearers to 6,003. That is an increase of 250 (+4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,980 to #5,591.
What does the Census say about the background of Khoury?
Among Census respondents with the surname Khoury, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Khoury in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (5,386 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Khoury appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Hispanic (5.5%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Khoury (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 Khoury mean?
A surname of Middle Eastern origin referring to a member of the clergy or a priest. 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 Khoury (2.01 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 have the surname Khoury?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.