2000
#49,471
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 399
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Rare Last name
Umar
An Arabic surname derived from the root word 'amr' meaning 'life' or 'prosperity'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,471 Americans carry the last name Umar. That puts it at #20,854 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 233,008 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Umar 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Umar with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 233,008
Census rank
#20,854
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,283 bearers of the surname Umar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20854th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Umar, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and White (10.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Umar
The surname UMAR is of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic word "amr" which means "life" or "command". The name can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the early days of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname UMAR is found in the historical accounts of the second Caliph of Islam, Umar ibn al-Khattab (c. 586-644 AD). He was a prominent figure in the Islamic world and played a crucial role in the expansion of the Islamic empire during the 7th century.
The surname UMAR has its roots in various regions of the Middle East, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Syria, where it was commonly used among Arab tribes and communities. It later spread to other parts of the world through migration and trade routes.
In the 11th century, the UMAR surname appeared in the historical records of the Seljuk Empire, a medieval Persianate empire that ruled over parts of Central Asia and the Middle East. One notable figure from this period was Umar Khayyam (1048-1131 AD), a renowned Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet.
During the 13th century, the surname UMAR gained prominence in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and the Levant. One of the most famous Mamluks of this era was Umar al-Shuhinah, a prominent military commander who served under Sultan Baibars I in the late 13th century.
Throughout history, the UMAR surname has been associated with various scholars, poets, and religious figures. In the 16th century, Umar ibn Muhammad al-Suhrawardi (1145-1234 AD) was a renowned Sufi mystic and philosopher from present-day Iran.
During the Ottoman Empire, the surname UMAR was also found among Turkish and Balkan populations. One notable figure was Umar Pasha Latas (c. 1804-1871 AD), an Ottoman military commander and statesman who served as the governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid-19th century.
Other historical figures with the surname UMAR include Umar Khayyam (1048-1131 AD), a renowned Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet; Umar Suleiman Al-Ashqar (1939-2012 AD), a prominent Islamic scholar and educator from Palestine; and Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah (643-720 AD), an early Arab poet and scholar from the Umayyad Caliphate.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Umar
Among Census respondents with the surname Umar, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and White (10.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Umar 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 Umar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.8% · 742
- Black or African American23.9% · 307
- White10.8% · 139
- Two or more races4.9% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Umar
Umar 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
#31,873
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 724
+325 bearers (+81.5%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 17,598 places
2020
#20,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,283
+559 bearers (+77.2%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Up 11,019 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,471 | 399 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31,873 | 724 | 0.25 | +325 bearers (+81.5%) | Up 17,598 places |
| 2020 | #20,854 | 1,283 | 0.43 | +559 bearers (+77.2%) | Up 11,019 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 Umar 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 | #31,873 | #20,854 | 34.6% |
| Count | 724 | 1,283 | 77.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.25 | 0.43 | 71.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Umar bearers went from 724 to 1,283 (+77.2% change). The surname moved up 11,019 positions in the national ranking, going from #31,873 to #20,854.
FAQ
Umar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Umar?
Name Census estimates that about 1,471 living Americans carry the surname Umar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 233,008 residents.
How common is Umar?
Umar ranks #20,854 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.43 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 1,283 people with the surname Umar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,471), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.43 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 Umar.
Has Umar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Umar went from 724 recorded bearers to 1,283. That is an increase of 559 (+77.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #31,873 to #20,854.
What does the Census say about the background of Umar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Umar, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and White (10.8%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Umar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (742 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Umar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (57.8%), Black (23.9%), White (10.8%). 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 Umar (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 Umar mean?
An Arabic surname derived from the root word 'amr' meaning 'life' or 'prosperity'. 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 Umar (0.43 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 are called Umar?
Find out how many people have the surname Umar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.