Sayegh last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sayegh

A surname of Arabic origin meaning traveling merchant or trader.

Sayegh, 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 Sayegh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sayegh in America

Sayegh is the 16975th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sayegh surname appeared 1,674 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sayegh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sayegh 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 16975 18188 -6.90%
Count 1,674 1,411 17.05%
Proportion per 100k 0.57 0.52 9.17%

The history of the last name Sayegh

The surname "SAYEGH" has its origins in the Middle East, specifically in the Levant region (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan). It is an Arabic name derived from the root word "saygh," which means "goldsmith" or "jeweler" in Arabic.

This surname can be traced back to the 12th century when it was used to identify individuals who worked as goldsmiths or jewelers in the region. The earliest known record of the name is found in a manuscript from the Crusades era, where a certain Sayegh al-Halabi is mentioned as a skilled goldsmith from the city of Aleppo.

During the Ottoman Empire's rule over the Levant, the Sayegh family was prominent in several cities, including Damascus, Beirut, and Jerusalem. One notable figure was Ibrahim Sayegh (1679-1744), a renowned calligrapher and scribe who worked in the court of the Ottoman governor of Damascus.

As the Levant region became more integrated into the global economy during the 19th century, many Sayeghs emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly to the Americas and Europe. One of the earliest recorded Sayeghs in the United States was Yousef Sayegh (1845-1920), who settled in New York City and worked as a jeweler.

Another notable figure was Khalil Sayegh (1870-1952), a Lebanese writer and journalist who played a significant role in the Arab literary renaissance of the early 20th century. He was born in the village of Shemlan, Lebanon, and later lived in Egypt and the United States.

In more recent history, Camille Sayegh (1905-1993) was a prominent Lebanese lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Lebanese Parliament and as the country's Minister of Justice.

It is worth noting that the Sayegh surname is not limited to the Middle East, as many individuals with this name can be found in various parts of the world due to emigration and diaspora. However, its origins and historical significance can be traced back to the region of the Levant and the profession of goldsmiths and jewelers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sayegh

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

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 Sayegh was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 89.55% 1,499
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.54% 9
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.14% 19
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 4.72% 79
Hispanic Origin 4.06% 68

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 Sayegh has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 89.55% 83.63% 6.84%
Black 0.54% 0.57% -5.41%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.14% 0.35% 106.04%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 4.72% 12.05% -87.42%
Hispanic 4.06% 3.40% 17.69%

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

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

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"Sayegh last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 22, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sayegh-surname-popularity/.

"Sayegh last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sayegh-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 May, 2025

Sayegh last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sayegh-surname-popularity/.

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