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

Riz, 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 Riz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Riz in America

Riz is the 123064th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Riz surname appeared 140 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 Riz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Riz 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 Riz

The surname RIZ is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, with its roots likely stemming from the Sanskrit word "rishi," which means "sage" or "seer." This name is often associated with people of Hindu or Muslim descent, particularly from regions like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname RIZ can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century administrative document commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar. This text mentions a nobleman named Mir Riz, who held a prominent position in the imperial court.

During the medieval period, variations of the name such as Riza, Rizvi, and Rizwani were commonly used by Islamic scholars and religious leaders. The suffix "vi" or "wani" often indicated a connection to the Prophet Muhammad's lineage or a particular spiritual tradition.

In the 18th century, the name RIZ appeared in several Persian manuscripts and historical records from the Mughal era. One notable figure was Mir Rizwan Ali Khan, a Nawab (governor) of Rohilkhand in northern India, who lived from 1720 to 1789.

Another prominent individual was Reza Khan, an Iranian military officer and politician who became the Shah of Iran in 1925. He was instrumental in establishing the Pahlavi dynasty and modernizing the country until his abdication in 1941.

In more recent times, the surname RIZ has been carried by several influential figures, such as Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006), an Egyptian writer and Nobel laureate in literature, and Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari (1929-2012), an Indian lawyer and human rights activist.

It's worth noting that the name RIZ has also been recorded with various spellings and variants, such as Riz, Rizvi, Rizwani, and Reza, reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the regions where it has been used.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Riz

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

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

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

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