2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tabari
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "interpreter" or "commentator".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Tabari. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tabari 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Tabari in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tabari, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tabari
The surname TABARI is thought to have originated in Persia (modern-day Iran) during the 9th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "tabari", which means "historian" or "interpreter". The name is associated with the famous Islamic scholar and historian Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, who was born in 838 AD in the city of Amol, located in the province of Tabaristan (now Mazandaran Province) in northern Persia.
Al-Tabari is renowned for his monumental work, "Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk" (History of the Prophets and Kings), which is considered one of the most comprehensive and authoritative historical accounts of the early Islamic world. This work, along with his other scholarly contributions, earned him a reputation as one of the greatest historians and exegetes of his time.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname TABARI can be traced back to the 10th century, with several references found in Persian and Arabic manuscripts from that era. One notable early bearer of the name was Abu Nasr al-Tabari, a Persian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the late 10th century and made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry.
Over the centuries, variations of the name have appeared in various regions, including TABARY, TABBARI, and TABARRI. These variations often reflect local linguistic and cultural influences, as well as regional dialects.
Several notable individuals with the surname TABARI have left their mark throughout history:
1. Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838-923 AD), the renowned Islamic scholar and historian mentioned earlier.
2. Abu Nasr al-Tabari (c. 963-1036 AD), the Persian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to trigonometry.
3. Radi al-Din al-Tabari (c. 1145-1215 AD), a Persian physician and philosopher who wrote extensively on medicine and philosophy.
4. Nizam al-Din al-Tabari (c. 1260-1325 AD), a Persian poet and mystic who was a prominent figure in the Sufi tradition.
5. Mahmud al-Tabari (c. 1390-1450 AD), a Persian scholar and historian who authored several works on the history and geography of the region.
The surname TABARI has also been associated with various place names, particularly in the Mazandaran Province of northern Iran, where the original Tabaristan region was located. Some examples of these place names include Tabari, Tabaristan, and Tabbaris.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tabari
Among Census respondents with the surname Tabari, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tabari 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 Tabari surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 98
- Black or African American7.6% · 9
- Two or more races5.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tabari
Tabari 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
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+13 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,981 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 10,981 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 Tabari 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 | #153,769 | #142,788 | 7.1% |
| Count | 106 | 119 | 12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tabari bearers went from 106 to 119 (+12.3% change). The surname moved up 10,981 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #142,788.
FAQ
Tabari surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tabari?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Tabari. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Tabari?
Tabari ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Tabari. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Tabari.
Has Tabari become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tabari went from 106 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 13 (+12.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Tabari?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tabari, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Tabari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tabari appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Black (7.6%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Tabari (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 Tabari mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "interpreter" or "commentator". 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 Tabari (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 Tabari?
You can see how many people are called Tabari on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.