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

Yanas, 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 Yanas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yanas in America

Yanas is the 88336th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yanas surname appeared 210 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 Yanas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yanas 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 Yanas

The surname Yanas is thought to have originated from the region that includes modern-day Greece and Turkey, likely during the Byzantine Empire, which spanned from approximately the 4th to the 15th century. The name is believed to derive from the Greek word "Ιωάννης" (Ioannis), which is a Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning "God is gracious." Over time, the name evolved in spelling and pronunciation, eventually becoming Yanas.

Yanas appears in historical records and manuscripts from as early as the 10th century in Byzantine texts. These records often include members of the clergy and local nobility. One of the earliest recorded examples is Ioannis Yanas, a minor nobleman and landowner in the region of Thrace in the year 978. His name appears in property deeds preserved in the Byzantine archives.

By the 12th century, variations of the name Yanas had spread to different areas of the Byzantine Empire, and it was not uncommon to see the name in ecclesiastical and commercial records. For instance, Demetrios Yanas, a merchant from Constantinople, is mentioned in a trade agreement dated 1145 that detailed his commercial endeavors in the Black Sea region.

With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, many bearers of the surname Yanas migrated to other parts of Europe and the Mediterranean. One notable figure is Georgios Yanas, who was born in 1460 and fled to Venice in the early 16th century. He became a prominent figure in the Greek expatriate community and contributed to the cultural and economic life of the city until his death in 1532.

During the Ottoman Empire, the name Yanas continued to be found in historical documents, often among those of Greek origin living under Ottoman rule. A well-documented individual from this period is Alexios Yanas, born in 1587, who served as an interpreter for the Ottoman court in Istanbul. He is mentioned in various diplomatic correspondences between the Ottomans and European powers up until his death in 1645.

In the 19th century, the Yanas name appeared in the context of Greek independence. Nikolaos Yanas, born in 1802, was a known figure in the Greek War of Independence that took place between 1821 and 1830. He was a soldier and participated in several significant battles, contributing to the eventual establishment of a free Greek state. He lived until 1873, leaving behind a legacy tied to the fight for Greek freedom.

By tracing the Yanas surname through history, we see its journey from the Byzantine Empire, through the Ottoman period, and into modern Greece, with its bearers contributing to various realms including nobility, commerce, diplomacy, and national independence movements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yanas

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

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

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

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