2000
#13,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,159
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Saeed
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "happy," "fortunate," or "blessed."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,645 Americans carry the last name Saeed. That puts it at #5,097 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,834 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saeed 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 Saeed with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 44,834
Census rank
#5,097
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,667 bearers of the surname Saeed in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5097th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saeed, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.2%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Black (9.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saeed
Among Census respondents with the surname Saeed, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.2%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Black (9.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Saeed 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 Saeed surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander47.2% · 3,145
- White35.8% · 2,386
- Black or African American9.4% · 624
- Two or more races6.0% · 399
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 109
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saeed
Saeed 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
#9,144
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,568
+1,409 bearers (+65.3%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 3,875 places
2020
#5,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,667
+3,099 bearers (+86.9%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Up 4,047 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,019 | 2,159 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,144 | 3,568 | 1.21 | +1,409 bearers (+65.3%) | Up 3,875 places |
| 2020 | #5,097 | 6,667 | 2.23 | +3,099 bearers (+86.9%) | Up 4,047 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 Saeed 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 | #9,144 | #5,097 | 44.3% |
| Count | 3,568 | 6,667 | 86.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 2.23 | 84.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saeed bearers went from 3,568 to 6,667 (+86.9% change). The surname moved up 4,047 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,144 to #5,097.
FAQ
Saeed surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saeed?
Name Census estimates that about 7,645 living Americans carry the surname Saeed. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,834 residents.
How common is Saeed?
Saeed ranks #5,097 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,667 people with the surname Saeed. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,645), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Saeed.
Has Saeed become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saeed went from 3,568 recorded bearers to 6,667. That is an increase of 3,099 (+86.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,144 to #5,097.
What does the Census say about the background of Saeed?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saeed, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.2%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Black (9.4%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Saeed in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.2% (3,145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saeed appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (47.2%), White (35.8%), Black (9.4%). 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 Saeed (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 Saeed mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "happy," "fortunate," or "blessed." 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 Saeed (2.23 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 Americans have the surname Saeed?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.