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

Saleeby, 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 Saleeby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saleeby in America

Saleeby is the 46404th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saleeby surname appeared 459 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 Saleeby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saleeby 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 Saleeby

The surname Saleeby originated in Syria and Lebanon, deriving from the Arabic word "Salibi" which means "descendant of the crusader". This surname traces its roots back to the time of the Crusades when some European crusaders settled in the Levant region and intermarried with the local population.

The earliest known record of the Saleeby surname can be found in the 16th century Ottoman tax registers, where it appeared as "Salibi" or "Salebi" in various spellings. It is believed that the name was initially given to the offspring of European crusaders and local Arab women, indicating their mixed heritage.

During the 19th century, many Saleeby families migrated from the Ottoman Empire to the Americas, particularly to the United States, Brazil, and Argentina. One of the earliest recorded Saleeby immigrants was Mikhail Saleeby, who arrived in the United States in 1887 and settled in New York City.

Notable historical figures with the Saleeby surname include:

1. Najeeb Saleeby (1870-1935), a Syrian-American writer and educator who authored several books on Arabic literature and culture.
2. Nazira Zain al-Din Saleeby (1887-1958), a Lebanese writer and activist who campaigned for women's rights and education in the Arab world.
3. Calil Saleeby (1877-1948), a Brazilian industrialist and philanthropist of Lebanese descent, who founded the Saleeby Foundation for social and educational initiatives.
4. Samir Saleeby (1919-2010), a renowned Lebanese-American physicist and inventor, known for his contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II.
5. Kahlil Saleeby (1924-2011), a Syrian-American artist and sculptor, whose works are displayed in various museums and galleries across the United States.

The Saleeby surname has also been associated with several place names in Lebanon and Syria, such as Saleeby Hill in Beirut and the village of Saleeby in the Bekaa Valley. These place names are believed to have been derived from the surname itself, reflecting the historical presence of Saleeby families in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saleeby

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Saleeby, 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!