The 2010 U.S. Census recorded 10,639 black Americans with Ahmed as their last name. That represented 22% of the total of 48,319 entries.
This article tracks their numbers in the census since the Civil War. We also look at historic African American people named Ahmed.
We end with a review of early records of black military service in the United States.
After The Civil War
The 1870 census was the first survey after the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1850 and 1860, only free African Americans were recorded in the census. The many enslaved were omitted.
From 1870 onward, all black Americans were included.
However, there wasn’t a single people named Ahmed in the 1870 – either black, mixed, or white.
Ahmed In The 1900 And 1940 Census
The mixed category was dropped from the census in 1900, so we just need to look at the black numbers this time.
The 1900 census recorded 0 people with the last name Ahmed as black within a total of 0 that year.
By the way, the mixed category returned in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. It was dropped again in 1930, but replaced with extra categories for colored and non-white in a way that seems confusing now.
This changed again in 1940 and we can simply focus on one black category.
The 1940 census recorded 28 people named Ahmed as black within a total of 144.
Historic Black Figures With The Ahmed Surname
Here is a notable African American in history with Ahmed as their last name.
Ahmed I (Ahmed The First)
- Born: 1590
- From: West Africa
- Died: 1617
Ahmed I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire when his father died when he was thirteen.
He presided over the construction of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Known also as the Blue Mosque, the building is renowned in Islamic architecture.