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

Shalev, 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 Shalev surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shalev in America

Shalev is the 91981st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shalev surname appeared 200 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 Shalev.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shalev 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 Shalev

The surname Shalev originates from the Hebrew language and has its roots in ancient Semitic languages. It is derived from the Hebrew word "shalev," which means "calmness" or "serenity." The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages among Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa.

Shalev is a relatively uncommon surname, but it has been documented in historical records from various regions. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in a 13th-century manuscript from the Cairo Geniza, a treasure trove of Jewish manuscripts discovered in an ancient synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt.

In the 15th century, the name Shalev appeared in a census record of Jewish families living in the city of Fez, Morocco. This document provides valuable insight into the distribution and prevalence of the surname during that time period.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several notable individuals bearing the surname Shalev were recorded in various Jewish communities across the Middle East and North Africa. One such individual was Rabbi Yitzhak Shalev, a renowned Torah scholar who lived in Safed, Palestine (present-day Israel), in the late 16th century.

Another prominent figure was Miriam Shalev, a Jewish poet and mystic who lived in Tripoli, Libya, in the early 17th century. Her works, which explored themes of spirituality and devotion, were widely circulated and admired among Jewish communities in the region.

In the 18th century, a family by the name of Shalev was documented in the town of Hebron, in what was then Ottoman Palestine. This family was known for their expertise in the production of olive oil and their contributions to the local Jewish community.

As Jewish communities migrated and dispersed throughout the world, the surname Shalev began to appear in various regions, including Europe and the Americas. One notable individual was Aaron Shalev, a Jewish scholar and educator who was born in Poland in 1870 and later immigrated to the United States, where he taught at several prominent yeshivas.

In more recent times, the surname Shalev has been carried by several influential figures, including Israeli author Meir Shalev, who was born in 1948 and is known for his novels that explore the themes of identity, memory, and the Israeli experience.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shalev

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

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

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

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