2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Yaari
A surname derived from Hindi meaning 'friend' or 'companion.'
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Yaari. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yaari 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Yaari in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yaari, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yaari
The surname Yaari is of Hebrew origin and finds its roots in the Jewish communities of the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Derived from the Hebrew word "ya'ar," meaning "forest" or "wood," Yaari translates roughly to "my forest" or "forest dweller." This surname manifests a connection to nature and rural life, which was common among Jewish people living in or near wooded areas.
The name Yaari appears in historical records dating back to the late medieval period. One notable early reference is in the form of family lists and community records in the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century. Jewish communities in places like Jerusalem and Safed often used surnames related to natural elements, which explains the adoption of Yaari among certain families.
The earliest recorded example of the surname Yaari appears in an Ottoman census of 1525, listing a family registered under this name in Jerusalem. Another significant historical record includes a tax document from Safed in 1586, mentioning a prominent local merchant named Avraham Yaari. His transactions were pivotal in the local economy of the Jewish quarter.
Through the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Yaari began to spread to Eastern Europe, particularly within Ashkenazi Jewish communities. The surname appeared in various spellings, such as Yaar, Jari, and Yori, as families migrated and adapted the name to different linguistic and cultural environments. Mendel Yaari, born in Vilnius in 1721, is one of the early known bearers of the surname in Lithuania. He was a respected rabbi who contributed to local religious scholarship.
In the 19th century, the surname Yaari became more common in official records. A notable figure is Hillel Yaari, born in 1810 in Prague, who was a writer and educator within the Jewish Enlightenment movement. His works on Jewish history and culture earned him recognition in academic circles of his time.
By the early 20th century, the name Yaari saw further prominence with individuals like Shimon Yaari, born in 1885 in Warsaw, who was an influential Zionist leader and one of the founders of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His contributions to Jewish education and the Zionist cause were substantial.
Another important figure is Yaakov Yaari-Poleskin, born in 1900 in Odessa, who became a renowned violinist and composer. His music was celebrated both in Europe and later in Israel, where he emigrated in the 1930s, enhancing the cultural tapestry of the Jewish state.
The surname Yaari carries a rich heritage, reflecting the close relationship between Jewish communities and their historical, cultural, and natural environments. From its Middle Eastern origins to its spread across Europe, the name has been borne by influential figures who contributed significantly to Jewish history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yaari
Among Census respondents with the surname Yaari, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Yaari 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 Yaari surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 8
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yaari
Yaari 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
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+10 bearers (+9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,549 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.6%) | Up 9,549 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 Yaari 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 | #156,044 | #146,495 | 6.1% |
| Count | 104 | 114 | 9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yaari bearers went from 104 to 114 (+9.6% change). The surname moved up 9,549 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #146,495.
FAQ
Yaari surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yaari?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Yaari. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Yaari?
Yaari ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Yaari. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Yaari.
Has Yaari become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yaari went from 104 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 10 (+9.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Yaari?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yaari, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Yaari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yaari appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (7.0%), Black (0.9%). 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 Yaari (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 Yaari mean?
A surname derived from Hindi meaning 'friend' or 'companion.' 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 Yaari (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 share the surname Yaari?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.