# Africa (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/africa/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 509 |
| US rank (2010) | 42,579 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 606,573 people |
| Change since 2000 | +13% (452 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈæfɹɪkə/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Afrika, Affrike, Afric, Africk, Afficky |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Affrike, from Old French Affrique, Affrike, from Latin Āfrica, from Āfrī, singular Āfer (inhabitant of the country of Carthage), in turn either from: * The Punic or Phoenician word 𐤏𐤐𐤓 (ʿpr /⁠ʿafar⁠/, “dust”), from Proto-Semitic *ʕapar- (“dust, soil”), which has cognates in other Semitic languages. * The Berber word ifri (“cave”), plural ifran, in reference to cave dwellers of Tunisia (see Tataouine). Folk etymologies include: * Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) + φρίκη f (phríkē), meaning "without cold" * Latin aprica (“sunny”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Africa in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 36% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 50% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 3.1% |

## Similar surnames

Aparicio, Abarca, Abrego, Abercrombie, Apperson, Aversa.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.