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

Wassef, 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 Wassef surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wassef in America

Wassef is the 60790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wassef surname appeared 331 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 Wassef.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wassef 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 Wassef

The surname "WASSEF" is of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic word "Wasif" which means "the describer" or "the praiser". This name first appeared in the Middle East region during the 7th century AD, around the time of the Islamic conquests.

The earliest known record of this surname can be found in the Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled parts of North Africa and the Middle East from 909 to 1171 AD. During this period, the name "WASSEF" was commonly used by scholars and poets who were skilled in the art of description and praise.

One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Abu Al-Qasim Al-Wassef, a renowned poet and writer who lived in Cairo, Egypt during the 11th century. His works, which included poems and prose praising the Fatimid caliphs, were widely celebrated and influential during his time.

Another notable figure with the surname "WASSEF" was Ibn Al-Wassef, a 13th-century historian and geographer from Mosul, Iraq. His book, "Al-Taqwim al-Buldan" (The Tables of the Lands), was a comprehensive geographical work that described the lands and peoples of the known world at that time.

In the 14th century, a prominent family with the surname "WASSEF" rose to prominence in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria. This family produced several notable scholars, politicians, and military leaders, including Badr Al-Din Al-Wassef, a high-ranking official in the Mamluk court during the reign of Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad.

During the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over much of the Middle East and North Africa from the 16th to the early 20th century, the name "WASSEF" continued to be used by Arab families. One notable figure from this period was Hafiz Wassef, a 17th-century Ottoman scholar and poet from Damascus, Syria, who was renowned for his mastery of Arabic literature and poetry.

In more recent history, the surname "WASSEF" has been carried by several influential figures in the Arab world, such as Adel Wassef, an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Minister of Egypt from 1977 to 1978, and Rifa'a Al-Tahtawi, a 19th-century Egyptian scholar and writer who played a significant role in the Renaissance of modern Arabic literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wassef

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

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

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

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