Najmi last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Najmi

An Arabic surname derived from the term "najm" meaning star or celestial body.

Najmi, 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 Najmi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Najmi in America

Najmi is the 83834th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Najmi surname appeared 224 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 Najmi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Najmi 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank8383497384-14.95%
Count22417325.69%
Proportion per 100k0.080.0628.57%

The history of the last name Najmi

The surname NAJMI has its origins in the Middle East, with roots dating back to the 7th century. It is believed to be derived from the Arabic word "najm," which means "star" or "celestial body." This name likely originated among Arabian tribes, particularly in the regions now known as Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name NAJMI can be found in the writings of the renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher Al-Ghazali, who lived from 1058 to 1111 CE. He mentioned a scholar named Abu Abdullah al-Najmi in his work, indicating that the surname was already in use during that time.

During the medieval period, the NAJMI name appeared in various historical records, particularly in regions under Islamic rule. For example, there are references to individuals with this surname in the chronicles of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled from 750 to 1258 CE.

In the 13th century, a prominent figure named Najm al-Din al-Najmi lived in present-day Iran. He was a renowned mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the development of observatories.

Another notable individual bearing the NAJMI surname was Abu Bakr al-Najmi, a 14th-century Sufi scholar and poet from Persia (present-day Iran). His writings on mysticism and spirituality were widely influential during his time.

In the Ottoman Empire, which ruled from the 14th to the early 20th century, the NAJMI surname was also present. One notable bearer of this name was Suleiman al-Najmi, a 16th-century Ottoman jurist and legal scholar who wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence.

The NAJMI surname has also been associated with various place names in the Middle East, such as Najm al-Din and Najm al-Shams, which were towns or villages named after celestial bodies.

Throughout history, there have been several other prominent individuals who carried the NAJMI surname, including poets, philosophers, and Islamic scholars. However, due to the limited historical records available, it is challenging to provide comprehensive details about all of them.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Najmi

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

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 Najmi was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only32.14%72
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only52.68%118
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races11.61%26
Hispanic Origin2.68%6

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

20102000Change (%)
White32.14%32.37%-0.71%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander52.68%46.24%13.02%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races11.61%18.50%-45.77%
Hispanic2.68%(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 Najmi was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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