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

Qureshi, 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 Qureshi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Qureshi in America

Qureshi is the 5035th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Qureshi surname appeared 6,966 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Qureshi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Qureshi 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 Qureshi

The surname Qureshi originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region known as Persia (modern-day Iran) during the 7th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "Quraish," which was the name of the influential tribe that the Prophet Muhammad belonged to. The tribe played a significant role in the early days of Islam, and its members were known for their mercantile and trading activities.

The earliest recorded instances of the Qureshi surname can be traced back to the 8th century, when it appeared in various historical records and manuscripts from the Abbasid Caliphate. These records often mentioned individuals with the surname Qureshi holding prominent positions within the caliphate's administration and military.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Qureshi was Umar ibn al-Khattab (586-644 CE), a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad and the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. He played a crucial role in the expansion of the Islamic empire and the establishment of Islamic law.

Another notable figure was Abu Bakr al-Qurashi (573-634 CE), the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate and one of the closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad. He was instrumental in the early spread of Islam and the compilation of the Quran.

During the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled from 750 to 1258 CE, several individuals with the surname Qureshi held high-ranking positions. One such person was Abu al-Abbas al-Qurashi (718-754 CE), the founder of the Abbasid dynasty and the first Abbasid caliph.

As the Islamic empire expanded, the Qureshi surname began to spread across various regions, including the Indian subcontinent. One notable figure from this region was Syed Ahmed Barelvi (1786-1831 CE), a Muslim scholar and revolutionary who led a movement against the Sikh Empire in modern-day Pakistan.

In more recent history, Abdus Salam (1926-1996 CE), a Pakistani theoretical physicist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 for his contributions to the electroweak unification theory. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century.

Throughout its history, the Qureshi surname has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, religious leaders, merchants, and political figures. Despite its Middle Eastern origins, the name has gained a strong foothold in various parts of the world, particularly in South Asia and the Middle East.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Qureshi

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

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

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

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