2000
#19,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,275
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.47
Rare Last name
Ramadan
A surname derived from the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,633 Americans carry the last name Ramadan. That puts it at #12,808 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,176 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ramadan 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 Ramadan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 130,176
Census rank
#12,808
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,296 bearers of the surname Ramadan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12808th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramadan, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ramadan
The surname Ramadan has its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the 7th century AD in the Arabian Peninsula. It is derived from the root word "ramad," which means "scorching heat" or "intense dryness," referring to the harsh desert climate. The name is closely associated with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims observe fasting from dawn to dusk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ramadan can be found in historical documents from the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled the Islamic world from 661 to 750 AD. The name was prominent among Arab tribes and families residing in the desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant.
In the 10th century, the surname Ramadan appeared in manuscripts and records from the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled from Baghdad. Notable figures with this surname during this period include Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ramadan, a renowned scholar and jurist who lived from 913 to 994 AD, and Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ramadan, a celebrated poet born in 940 AD.
As the Islamic empires expanded, the surname Ramadan spread across various regions, including North Africa, Andalusia (modern-day Spain and Portugal), and parts of Central Asia. In the 12th century, Ibn Ramadan, a prominent mathematician and astronomer from Seville, Spain, made significant contributions to the development of Islamic scientific knowledge.
During the Ottoman Empire, which ruled from the 14th to the early 20th century, the surname Ramadan was particularly prevalent in regions like modern-day Turkey, the Balkans, and parts of the Middle East. One notable figure was Mehmet Ramadan Pasha, a grand vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century.
Throughout history, the surname Ramadan has been associated with various place names and older spellings. For example, in parts of the Levant, it was sometimes spelled as "Ramazan" or "Ramadhan," reflecting local dialects and linguistic variations.
Other notable individuals with the surname Ramadan include Khalil Ramadan, an Egyptian politician and diplomat who played a significant role in the Arab nationalist movement in the early 20th century (1888-1966), and Amin Ramadan, a renowned Syrian poet and writer who lived from 1895 to 1944.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramadan
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramadan, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ramadan 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 Ramadan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 1,856
- Black or African American9.3% · 213
- Two or more races4.4% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ramadan
Ramadan 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
#16,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,724
+449 bearers (+35.2%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Up 2,945 places
2020
#12,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,296
+572 bearers (+33.2%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 3,822 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,575 | 1,275 | 0.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,630 | 1,724 | 0.58 | +449 bearers (+35.2%) | Up 2,945 places |
| 2020 | #12,808 | 2,296 | 0.77 | +572 bearers (+33.2%) | Up 3,822 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 Ramadan 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 | #16,630 | #12,808 | 23.0% |
| Count | 1,724 | 2,296 | 33.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.58 | 0.77 | 32.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ramadan bearers went from 1,724 to 2,296 (+33.2% change). The surname moved up 3,822 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,630 to #12,808.
FAQ
Ramadan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ramadan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,633 living Americans carry the surname Ramadan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,176 residents.
How common is Ramadan?
Ramadan ranks #12,808 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,296 people with the surname Ramadan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,633), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ramadan.
Has Ramadan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ramadan went from 1,724 recorded bearers to 2,296. That is an increase of 572 (+33.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,630 to #12,808.
What does the Census say about the background of Ramadan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ramadan, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Ramadan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (1,856 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ramadan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (9.3%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Ramadan (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 Ramadan mean?
A surname derived from the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. 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 Ramadan (0.77 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 share the surname Ramadan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.