2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Safie
A toponymic surname suggesting origins near a place called Safie.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Safie. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Safie 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.
Bearers in the US
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Safie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Safie, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Black (12.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Safie
The surname SAFIE is believed to have originated in Morocco during the 16th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "safee", meaning "clear" or "pure". The name was likely initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a pure or virtuous character.
In the early days, the name was predominantly found in the city of Fez and surrounding regions of northern Morocco. Variations in spelling included Safi, Safiy, and Safiye. Some of the earliest records of the name appear in local tax registers and property deeds from the 1500s.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ahmed al-Safie, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in Fez in the late 16th century. His poetry and writings on Islamic philosophy and theology were highly influential during his time.
In the 17th century, the name began to spread beyond Morocco, with records showing Safie families settling in neighboring regions of Algeria and Tunisia. During this period, the name was also associated with several notable Sufi mystics and religious leaders.
One such figure was Abdallah al-Safie, a revered Sufi saint who lived in Algiers in the mid-1600s. His teachings and spiritual guidance attracted followers from across North Africa, and his tomb became a popular pilgrimage site.
In the 18th century, the Safie name made its way to Europe, with families bearing the name settling in Spain and France. One notable individual was Ibrahim Safie, a Moroccan-born merchant who established a successful trading business in Marseille, France, in the 1760s.
In the 19th century, the Safie surname gained prominence in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in present-day Turkey and Syria. Ibrahim Safie Pasha, a high-ranking Ottoman official and governor of Damascus in the 1830s, was a prominent figure of this era.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ali Safie, a renowned calligrapher and artist who lived in Istanbul in the late 19th century. His intricate calligraphic works adorned many mosques and palaces across the Ottoman Empire.
As the Safie name spread globally, it was also adopted by families in other parts of the world, including the Americas and Southeast Asia. However, its roots and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the Arab and Islamic cultures of North Africa and the Middle East.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Safie
Among Census respondents with the surname Safie, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Black (12.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Safie 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 Safie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.0% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino28.1% · 34
- Black or African American12.4% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.7% · 13
- Two or more races5.8% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Safie
Safie appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+17 bearers (+16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 14,735 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+16.3%) | Up 14,735 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 Safie 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 | #156,044 | #141,309 | 9.4% |
| Count | 104 | 121 | 16.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Safie bearers went from 104 to 121 (+16.3% change). The surname moved up 14,735 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #141,309.
FAQ
Safie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Safie?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Safie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Safie?
Safie ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Safie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Safie.
Has Safie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Safie went from 104 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 17 (+16.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Safie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Safie, the largest self-reported group is White at 43.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Black (12.4%). 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 Safie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.0% (52 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Safie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (43.0%), Hispanic (28.1%), Black (12.4%). 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 Safie (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 Safie mean?
A toponymic surname suggesting origins near a place called Safie. 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 Safie (0.04 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 have the surname Safie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.