The Ghanem surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,017 people carried this name — #24,572 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 294,100 people counted. That is up 49% from 681 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Ghanem surname
Borrowed from Arabic غانم (ḡānim). This surname is mostly found in Egypt.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Ghanem» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 204 people named Ghanem.
Most of them — 129 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Seine-Saint-Denis.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 78 people named Ghanem live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Flemish Brabant.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
54 people named Ghanem live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 54 people named Ghanem live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
221 people named Ghanem is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Ghanem in American newspapers,
1897–1934.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Ghanem,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Mohamed Ghanem 1925–2014 · illuminator -
Samir Ghanem 1937–2021 · actor -
Mufid Ghanem 1959– · military officer -
Nujoom Al-Ghanem 1962– · writer -
Donia Samir Ghanem 1985– · actor -
Salah Ghanem 1933– · Esperantist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 23 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Ghanem.
- Getto 238 · U.S. census
- Geurts 857 · U.S. census
- Gex 195 · U.S. census
- Gey 113 · U.S. census
- Geyer 7,962 · U.S. census
- Ghali 427 · U.S. census
- Ghazarian 965 · U.S. census
- Ghazi 664 · U.S. census
- Ghelfi 200 · U.S. census
- Gheorghe 259 · U.S. census
- Gherardi 462 · U.S. census
- Gherardini 255 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Ghanem is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.