2000
#51,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 383
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Rare Last name
Abu
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "father of" or indicating an ancestor's name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,218 Americans carry the last name Abu. That puts it at #24,532 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 281,408 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abu 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 Abu with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.2K
1 in 281,408
Census rank
#24,532
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,062 bearers of the surname Abu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24532nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abu, the largest self-reported group is Black at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abu
The surname ABU is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is thought to have emerged as a surname in the Arabian Peninsula around the 8th century AD, during the early years of the Islamic caliphates.
ABU is derived from the Arabic word 'ab', which means father. It was commonly used as a patronymic suffix, added to a person's first name to indicate their lineage or ancestry. For example, Abu Bakr, one of the earliest and most prominent companions of the Prophet Muhammad, translates to "father of Bakr".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname ABU can be found in the writings of renowned Arab scholars and historians of the 9th and 10th centuries. These include works by Al-Tabari, Ibn Khaldun, and Al-Masudi, among others, who documented the lives and deeds of notable individuals bearing the surname.
The surname ABU gained prominence during the golden age of Islamic civilization, as scholars, poets, and philosophers from various regions adopted it. One such figure was Abu Nuwas (756-814 AD), a celebrated Arabic poet known for his satirical and romantic works, who hailed from the city of Ahvaz in present-day Iran.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (973-1048 AD), a renowned scholar, mathematician, and astronomer from the region of Khorasan (modern-day Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia). His groundbreaking works on geography, history, and astronomy influenced generations of scholars across the Islamic world and beyond.
In the medieval period, the surname ABU also found its way into the annals of history through the exploits of military leaders and rulers. One such figure was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (573-634 AD), a close companion of Prophet Muhammad and the first Caliph of the Islamic world after the prophet's death.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah (721-754 AD), the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over vast territories spanning from North Africa to Central Asia, ushering in a golden age of cultural and scientific achievements.
As the Islamic empires expanded and trade routes flourished, the surname ABU spread to various regions, including the Iberian Peninsula, where it is believed to have been introduced during the Moorish rule of Spain. In this region, the name evolved into various spellings, such as Abul and Abulafia, reflecting the influence of local languages and dialects.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abu
Among Census respondents with the surname Abu, the largest self-reported group is Black at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Abu 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 Abu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.9% · 774
- White13.4% · 142
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.5% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 22
- Two or more races2.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abu
Abu 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
#33,036
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 693
+310 bearers (+80.9%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Up 18,083 places
2020
#24,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,062
+369 bearers (+53.2%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Up 8,504 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #51,119 | 383 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #33,036 | 693 | 0.23 | +310 bearers (+80.9%) | Up 18,083 places |
| 2020 | #24,532 | 1,062 | 0.36 | +369 bearers (+53.2%) | Up 8,504 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 Abu 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 | #33,036 | #24,532 | 25.7% |
| Count | 693 | 1,062 | 53.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.23 | 0.36 | 54.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abu bearers went from 693 to 1,062 (+53.2% change). The surname moved up 8,504 positions in the national ranking, going from #33,036 to #24,532.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Abu
FAQ
Abu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abu?
Name Census estimates that about 1,218 living Americans carry the surname Abu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 281,408 residents.
How common is Abu?
Abu ranks #24,532 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.36 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 1,062 people with the surname Abu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,218), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.36 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 Abu.
Has Abu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abu went from 693 recorded bearers to 1,062. That is an increase of 369 (+53.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #33,036 to #24,532.
What does the Census say about the background of Abu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abu, the largest self-reported group is Black at 72.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.5%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Abu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (774 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (72.9%), White (13.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.5%). 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 Abu (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 Abu mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "father of" or indicating an ancestor's name. 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 Abu (0.36 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 Americans have the surname Abu?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.