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

Said, 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 Said surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Said in America

Said is the 6180th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Said surname appeared 5,535 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Said.

We can also compare 2010 data for Said 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 Said

The surname SAID is of Arabic origin, deriving from the Arabic word "sa'id" which means "happy" or "fortunate." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East and North Africa regions during the medieval period.

The earliest recorded instances of the name SAID can be traced back to the 7th century, when it appeared in various Arabic manuscripts and records from the time of the Islamic Golden Age. It is believed that the name was originally used as a descriptive term for individuals who were considered fortunate or blessed.

During the 11th and 12th centuries, the surname SAID began to spread across the Mediterranean region, particularly in areas that were under the influence of the Islamic empires. It can be found in historical records from regions such as modern-day Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

One notable individual with the surname SAID was Abu al-Qasim al-Said, a renowned mathematician and astronomer from Andalusia (modern-day Spain) who lived in the 11th century. His works on arithmetic and algebra were highly influential during his time.

In the 13th century, the name SAID appeared in the records of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. One prominent figure was Saifuddin al-Said, a Mamluk sultan who ruled from 1259 to 1260.

During the Ottoman Empire's expansion in the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname SAID became more widespread in regions such as the Balkans and Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). One notable individual from this period was Ibrahim al-Said, a 16th-century Ottoman governor and military commander.

Another prominent figure with the surname SAID was Abdallah al-Said, a 19th-century Sudanese ruler and founder of the Khedivate of Sudan. He played a crucial role in the establishment of modern-day Sudan.

In the 20th century, the name SAID gained further recognition with figures such as Edward Said, a Palestinian-American literary theorist and public intellectual who was born in 1935 and died in 2003. His works, including "Orientalism," significantly influenced postcolonial studies and literary criticism.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Said

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

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

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

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