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

Parnas, 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 Parnas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Parnas in America

Parnas is the 151532nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Parnas surname appeared 108 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 Parnas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Parnas 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 Parnas

The surname PARNAS is of Russian origin, tracing its roots back to the early 19th century. It is believed to have originated from the Russian word "парнас," which means "Parnassus" – a reference to the famous mountain in central Greece associated with poetry and the arts.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name appears to have been concentrated in the regions of Moscow and St. Petersburg, where it was likely adopted by Jewish families seeking to assimilate into Russian society during the Russification policies of the imperial era.

One of the earliest known individuals with the PARNAS surname was Isaac PARNAS, a prominent Russian-Jewish writer and journalist born in 1853 in Vitebsk. His works often explored themes of cultural identity and the struggles faced by Jewish communities in the Russian Empire.

Another notable figure was Yakov PARNAS, a influential Russian-Jewish lawyer and activist who lived from 1884 to 1949. He was a vocal advocate for civil rights and played a pivotal role in the defense of Jewish citizens during the notorious "Beilis Affair" of 1913.

In the realm of academia, the name is closely associated with the biochemist and Nobel laureate, Efraim PARNAS, who was born in 1897 in what is now Belarus. His groundbreaking research on the metabolism of carbohydrates and fermentation processes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944.

The PARNAS surname also gained recognition through the accomplishments of the Russian-American mathematician and computer scientist, David PARNAS, born in 1941. He is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of software engineering and is renowned for his contributions to the development of modular programming techniques.

Another prominent individual was the Russian-Israeli painter and sculptor, Avigdor PARNAS, who lived from 1924 to 2004. His artwork, often inspired by his Jewish heritage and the landscapes of Israel, has been exhibited in galleries around the world and is highly celebrated within the contemporary art scene.

While the PARNAS surname may have originated from a poetic reference, its legacy has been shaped by individuals who have made significant contributions across various fields, from literature and law to science and art, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural and intellectual landscapes of their respective eras.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Parnas

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

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

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

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