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

Saifi, 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 Saifi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saifi in America

Saifi is the 94730th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saifi surname appeared 193 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 Saifi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saifi 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 Saifi

The surname SAIFI originated in the Middle East, specifically in the region of the Levant, which includes modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine. It dates back to the 12th century, during the era of the Crusades.

The name SAIFI is derived from the Arabic word "safi," which means "pure" or "clear." It is believed to have initially been used as a descriptive name, referring to someone who was considered pure or virtuous in character or appearance. The "i" ending is a common suffix in Arabic surnames, indicating a patronymic or family name.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name SAIFI can be found in the chronicles of the Crusades, which document the exploits of a Muslim warrior named Salah al-Din al-Saifi, who fought against the Crusaders in the late 12th century. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region at that time.

The SAIFI surname is closely associated with the city of Beirut, Lebanon, where there is a historic neighborhood known as Saifi Village. This area dates back to the 17th century and was originally inhabited by families with the SAIFI surname, who were among the city's elite and influential residents.

One notable figure in history with the SAIFI surname was Mustafa al-Saifi, a 16th-century Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the governor of Damascus and later as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire. Another prominent individual was Sayyid Ahmad al-Saifi, an 18th-century Sufi scholar and spiritual leader from Damascus, who was highly respected for his teachings and writings.

In the 19th century, the SAIFI name gained international recognition through the work of Bashir al-Saifi, a Lebanese poet and writer who was considered one of the pioneers of the Nahda, the Arab literary and cultural renaissance. His poetry and prose works, which explored themes of nationalism, identity, and social reform, had a significant impact on the development of modern Arabic literature.

Other notable individuals with the SAIFI surname include Khalil al-Saifi, a 20th-century Lebanese politician and diplomat who served as the country's Prime Minister from 1964 to 1965, and Zainab al-Saifi, a contemporary Syrian novelist and human rights activist whose works shed light on the struggles of women and marginalized communities in the Middle East.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saifi

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!