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

Raza, 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 Raza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Raza in America

Raza is the 9583rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Raza surname appeared 3,392 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 Raza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Raza 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 Raza

The surname RAZA has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the northwestern region of what is now Pakistan and parts of northern India. The name is derived from the Arabic word "raz," which means "secret" or "mystery."

One of the earliest documented references to the surname RAZA can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century gazetteer and administrative document compiled during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The text mentions individuals with the name RAZA holding various administrative positions in the Mughal Empire.

In the 17th century, the RAZA surname appears in several Persian manuscripts and court records from the Deccan region of southern India, which was under the rule of the Nizam Shahi dynasty. During this period, the name was associated with scholars, poets, and members of the nobility.

The earliest known individual with the surname RAZA is Mir Raza Ali Khan (1556-1624), a renowned poet and scholar who served as a courtier under the Mughal Emperors Akbar and Jahangir. His collection of poetry, known as the Divan-e-Raza, is considered a masterpiece of Persian literature.

Another notable figure with the surname RAZA is Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898), a Muslim philosopher, jurist, and social reformer who played a pivotal role in the establishment of modern education in India. He founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, which later became the Aligarh Muslim University.

In the 19th century, the RAZA surname gained prominence in the Hyderabad State, which was ruled by the Asaf Jah dynasty. One of the most influential figures from this era was Nawab Mehdi Raza Khan (1835-1908), a prominent statesman and prime minister of Hyderabad who played a crucial role in modernizing the state's administration.

The surname RAZA has also been associated with several notable personalities in the field of literature and arts. Amjad Raza (1914-1990) was a renowned Urdu poet and critic from Pakistan, while Sadequain (1930-1987), whose full name was Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi Raza, was a celebrated Pakistani artist known for his calligraphic works.

Another prominent figure with the surname RAZA is the Indian artist Syed Haider Raza (1922-2016), a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group in India and one of the most influential modern painters of the 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Raza

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

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

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

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