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

Saeed, 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 Saeed surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saeed in America

Saeed is the 9144th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saeed surname appeared 3,568 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 Saeed.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saeed 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 Saeed

The surname Saeed originated in the Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East and North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "sa'id," which means "fortunate" or "blessed." The name has its roots in the medieval Islamic period, dating back to the 7th century AD.

Saeed is a relatively common surname among Arabic-speaking populations, particularly in countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Arabic manuscripts and historical records from the region.

One notable example is the 13th-century Arabic scholar and historian, Ibn Saeed al-Andalusi, who was born in Andalusia (modern-day Spain) in 1213 AD and died in Tunis in 1286 AD. His full name was Abu al-Qasim Ibn Saeed al-Maghribi al-Andalusi, and he is renowned for his contributions to the fields of geography and history.

Another historical figure with the surname Saeed is the 14th-century Egyptian scholar and polymath, Al-Saeed al-Baydawi. He was born in Bayda, a town near Shiraz, Persia (modern-day Iran), in 1286 AD and died in Tabriz in 1319 AD. Al-Baydawi was a renowned Islamic theologian, philosopher, and jurist, and his works on Quranic exegesis and Islamic jurisprudence were widely studied and influential.

In the modern era, one notable bearer of the surname Saeed is the Egyptian novelist and playwright Naguib Mahfouz, who was born in 1911 and died in 2006. Mahfouz is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers in the Arabic language and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988 for his works that explored the complexities of modern Egyptian society.

Another prominent figure with the surname Saeed is the Pakistani-British writer and public intellectual, Salman Rushdie, who was born in 1947. Rushdie is best known for his controversial novel "The Satanic Verses," which sparked protests and threats against him from some Muslim groups due to its perceived blasphemous content.

Finally, the Sudanese-British businessman and philanthropist, Mo Saeed, who was born in 1953, is another notable bearer of the surname. Saeed is the founder of the international telecommunication company, Sudatel, and has been recognized for his contributions to economic development and philanthropy in Sudan and other African countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saeed

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

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

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

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