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

Zaharia, 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 Zaharia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zaharia in America

Zaharia is the 72568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zaharia surname appeared 268 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 Zaharia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zaharia 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 Zaharia

The surname Zaharia has its origins in Romania, a country in Southeastern Europe. It is derived from the Hebrew given name Zechariah, meaning "Yahweh has remembered" or "God has remembered." The name likely entered the Romanian lexicon through the influence of Christianity, which adopted many Hebrew names due to Biblical texts. The earliest usage of the surname can be traced back to medieval times, reflecting the importance of religious and cultural transmission.

Medieval records in Romania document various forms of the surname, including Zaharie and Zahariea, with the variations depending on regional dialects and orthographic practices of the time. Historical manuscripts from the 15th and 16th centuries frequently mention individuals with the surname Zaharia, particularly in regions such as Wallachia and Transylvania. These areas were known for their significant Christian populations, where Biblical names were prevalent.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Zaharia appears in a 16th-century document from Wallachia, listing a certain Ion Zaharia, a local landowner. Another significant historical figure is Ștefan Zaharia, born around 1620 and noted in church records for his contributions to the Orthodox Church in Moldavia. His descendants continued to play roles in ecclesiastical and local administrative affairs well into the 18th century.

The surname also appears in the chronicles of the Transylvanian Saxons. Petru Zaharia, a merchant and civic leader in the city of Sibiu during the late 17th century, was a notable example. His influence in trade relations between Romanians and Saxons is well-documented in town records from 1690 to 1715. Zaharia's merchant activities bridged cultural and economic gaps, underscoring the surname's presence in diverse spheres.

By the 18th century, Zaharia had become a reasonably established surname within Romanian nobility. One prominent family member, Gheorghe Zaharia, born in 1743, served as a boyar in the court of Prince Alexandru Mavrocordat of Moldavia. Gheorghe's political alliances and landholdings were meticulously chronicled in the court registers, cementing the family's noble status.

The Zaharia surname continued to be prominent in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Anastasie Zaharia, an Orthodox bishop born in 1850, was noted for his theological works and his role in the unification of Romanian religious practices across different regions. His publications and ecclesiastical reforms were influential up until his death in 1925.

Throughout history, the surname Zaharia reflected robust connections to Romanian cultural and religious identity. Individuals bearing this surname were often linked to the church, commerce, and local governance, highlighting the name's integration into various facets of Romanian society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zaharia

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

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

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

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