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

Nazarian, 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 Nazarian surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nazarian in America

Nazarian is the 14803rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nazarian surname appeared 2,004 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Nazarian.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nazarian 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 Nazarian

The surname Nazarian is of Armenian origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient kingdom of Armenia in the Caucasus region. The name is derived from the Armenian word "Nazar," which means "watchful" or "vigilant." It is believed to have originated in the 5th or 6th century CE, a time when Armenia was a major cultural and political center in the region.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Nazarian can be found in medieval Armenian manuscripts and chronicles. One notable mention is in the chronicles of Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi, a 10th-century Armenian historian, who recorded the name of a prominent Armenian noble family known as the Nazarians.

In the 12th century, the name Nazarian appears in the records of the Cilician Armenian Kingdom, a powerful Armenian state located in modern-day Turkey and Syria. During this period, the Nazarians were a prominent noble family known for their military prowess and loyalty to the Armenian crown.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Vahram Nazarian, a celebrated Armenian military commander who lived in the 12th century. He played a crucial role in the defense of the Cilician Armenian Kingdom against the invading Seljuk Turks.

Another notable figure with the surname Nazarian was Hovhannes Nazarian, a 13th-century Armenian philosopher and theologian. He was a prominent intellectual figure in the Cilician Armenian Kingdom and authored several influential works on Armenian philosophy and theology.

In the 19th century, the name Nazarian gained prominence in the Armenian diaspora communities across the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Mikhail Nazarian, born in 1825 in the Russian Empire, was a renowned Armenian writer and poet who contributed significantly to the development of modern Armenian literature.

During the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, many Armenians with the surname Nazarian were among those who were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homeland in the Ottoman Empire. Some found refuge in various countries, including France, the United States, and Russia, where they established new communities and preserved their cultural heritage.

Throughout history, the surname Nazarian has been associated with various place names and geographic regions within the historic Armenian homeland, such as the city of Nakhichevan and the province of Syunik. These place names often served as the basis for the formation of the surname Nazarian, indicating the family's origins or ancestral ties to those specific locations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nazarian

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

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

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

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