2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Soheili
A Persian surname referring to someone from the district of Soheil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Soheili. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Soheili 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Soheili in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Soheili, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Soheili
The surname SOHEILI is believed to have originated in Iran, derived from the Persian word 'soheyl', which means 'the star Canopus'. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with astrology or astronomy in ancient Persian culture.
During the medieval period, the SOHEILI surname appears to have been prevalent in the regions of Isfahan and Yazd, where many families with this name were recorded in local historical documents. Some of the earliest known references to the SOHEILI name can be found in Persian manuscripts dating back to the 13th century.
One notable historical figure bearing the SOHEILI surname was Mirza Mohammad Taqi Soheili, a prominent Persian poet and scholar who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was renowned for his mastery of Persian literature and his contributions to the field of linguistics.
Another significant individual was Haji Mirza Hassan Soheili, a 19th-century Iranian businessman and philanthropist. He was known for his extensive charitable work and his support for educational institutions in Isfahan.
In the early 20th century, Mohammad Reza Soheili was a prominent Iranian lawyer and political activist who played a role in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911. He was a vocal advocate for democratic reforms and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Iran.
One notable place name associated with the SOHEILI surname is the village of Soheili in the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran. This village likely derived its name from early settlers with the SOHEILI surname in the region.
While the SOHEILI surname is primarily found in Iran, it has also been documented in other parts of the Middle East and Central Asia, likely due to migration and trade routes throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soheili
Among Census respondents with the surname Soheili, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Soheili 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 Soheili surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 6
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Soheili
Soheili appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,777 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,777 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 Soheili 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 | #159,712 | #150,935 | 5.5% |
| Count | 101 | 108 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Soheili bearers went from 101 to 108 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,777 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #150,935.
FAQ
Soheili surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Soheili?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Soheili. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Soheili?
Soheili ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Soheili. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Soheili.
Has Soheili become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Soheili went from 101 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Soheili?
Among Census respondents with the surname Soheili, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Soheili in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Soheili appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Soheili (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 Soheili mean?
A Persian surname referring to someone from the district of Soheil. 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 Soheili (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 common is the surname Soheili?
Want to know how common the surname Soheili is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.