2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Shamaly
A surname derived from the Arabic word "shamal" meaning north or northerly wind.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Shamaly. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shamaly surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Shamaly in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shamaly, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shamaly
The surname SHAMALY is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the 7th century AD during the rise of Islam in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "shamal" or "shama'il," meaning "northern" or "northerly." This suggests that the name initially referred to individuals or families who hailed from the northern regions of the Arabian Peninsula.
In the early Islamic era, surnames were often derived from geographic locations, professions, or personal characteristics. The name SHAMALY likely emerged as a way to identify individuals or families who migrated from the northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula to other regions dominated by Arab and Islamic culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SHAMALY can be found in the historical manuscripts of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled a vast territory stretching from North Africa to Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries. These manuscripts mention individuals with the surname SHAMALY serving in various administrative and military roles within the caliphate.
During the medieval period, the name SHAMALY also appeared in various Arabic literary works and historical chronicles. For instance, the renowned 13th-century Arab historian and traveler Ibn Battuta mentioned encountering individuals with the surname SHAMALY during his extensive travels across the Muslim world.
Notable individuals with the surname SHAMALY include:
1. Ibrahim al-Shamaly (1150-1220), a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad, known for his contributions to the development of trigonometry and spherical geometry.
2. Fatima al-Shamaly (1225-1285), a celebrated Arab poet and scholar from Damascus, whose works were widely acclaimed for their lyrical beauty and philosophical depth.
3. Khalid al-Shamaly (1350-1420), a prominent Arab navigator and explorer from the coastal city of Jeddah, who is credited with establishing trade routes and settlements along the eastern coast of Africa.
4. Mahmud al-Shamaly (1520-1585), a skilled Arab architect and calligrapher from Cairo, whose intricate calligraphic designs adorned many mosques and palaces across the Ottoman Empire.
5. Nadia al-Shamaly (1920-2005), a pioneering Arab feminist and activist from Beirut, who fought for women's rights and education in the Middle East throughout the 20th century.
The surname SHAMALY has also been associated with various place names and geographic locations across the Arab world, reflecting the migratory patterns and settlements of families bearing this name throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shamaly
Among Census respondents with the surname Shamaly, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Shamaly bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Shamaly surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 114
- Black or African American2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shamaly
Shamaly appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+17 bearers (+16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,188 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 909 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+16.8%) | Up 8,188 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 909 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Shamaly surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #141,140 | #142,049 | -0.6% |
| Count | 118 | 120 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shamaly bearers went from 118 to 120 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 909 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #142,049.
FAQ
Shamaly surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shamaly?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Shamaly. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Shamaly?
Shamaly ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Shamaly. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Shamaly.
Has Shamaly become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shamaly went from 118 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 2 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Shamaly?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shamaly, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shamaly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shamaly appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Black (2.5%), Hispanic (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Shamaly (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Shamaly mean?
A surname derived from the Arabic word "shamal" meaning north or northerly wind. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Shamaly (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Shamaly?
Find out how many people have the surname Shamaly on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.