Resources to Help Your Arab American Genealogy

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April is Arab American Heritage Month! Because Arab American genealogy can be a challenge, I pulled together a guide to basic resources.

Arab American Demographics

The Arab American Institute estimates that about 3.7 million people are Arab Americans. A quarter of these people identify as Lebanese. The number of Arab Americans grew by almost 75% from 2000 and 2010 and many newer immigrants are from Somalia, Egypt, and Iraq. Nearly all Arab Americans live in major cities.

Arab American Immigration History

Early Arabic-speaking immigrants were mostly Christians from Lebanon and Syria. This migration of primarily illiterate, single men began around the 1880s through World War I. The Immigration Act of 1917, the Depression, and other world events slowed down immigration. In 1965, it began again with a largely Muslim population from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, among other countries.

Challenges to Arab American Genealogy Research

One challenge to Arab-American research is that the US has classified Arabs as white since 1970, so the census and other demographic reports may not reflect the true number of Arab Americans. The US Census Bureau states that as of 2010, there were an estimated 1.5 million Arab Americans, while the Arab American Institute estimated nearly double that.

Arabic naming conventions can be another challenge. Arabic naming systems have several parts. Patronymics (son of, daughter of) can include not only the father, but also grandfather and great-grandfather! So, someone could be named First name – Father’s first name – Grandfather’s first name – Surname. Like immigrants from many other countries, it’s not uncommon for the first generation or two to change their surnames, often more than once.

Get creative in trying different name combinations when researching. You never know if they’ll use their original surname, an Anglicized surname, or one of their patronymic names, like the father’s first name. But, when you do find the full name, it can have a wealth of information on paternal lineage names.   

Books on Arab American Genealogy

Most of the genealogy books on Arab Americans tend to focus on the experience of the Arab American diaspora and not so much on how to find records for specific countries of origin.

Here are a few titles to get you started.

Where to Find Your Arab-American or Jewish Genealogy Records: Also: Mediterranean, Assyrian, Iranian, Greek & Armenian by Anne Hart

This wide-ranging book is the most specific available on Arab-American genealogy. Hart covers how to begin researching Christian and Muslim Middle Eastern roots and how to overcome challenges.

Becoming American by Alixa Naff

Becoming American describes the pre-WWI wave of Arab immigrants, most of whom moved to the US to be merchants. This is a great introduction to the history of Lebanese and Syrian immigration.

Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora by Sarah M. A. Gualtieri

This book discusses the formation of ethnic identity by the first wave of Arab immigrants, Most of these immigrants were from present-day Syria and Lebanon. While this isn’t a research manual, it gives insight into how this group of immigrants came to view themselves and create social identities in the US.

Crossing the Waters: Arabic-Speaking Immigrants to the United States Before 1940 by Eric J. Hooglund

A collection of essays and case studies on the experiences of early Arabic-speaking immigrants, mostly Christians from Lebanon and Syria. Like Between Arab and White, this book gives perspective into the early Arab-American experience, rather than concrete research methods. But, it’s important to understand the time our ancestors lived in to get a better idea of what their lives were like. This book can also be borrowed for two weeks via the Internet Archive.

The Arab Americans by Randa Kayyali

Kayyali discusses the history of the first wave of Arab immigrants, who came between 1880 and 1925, as well as later waves. Post-1965 immigrants have brought more diversity to the Arab American community, including more Muslims, and people from Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.

Arab Genealogy Websites

While there are unfortunately no online database collections, there are some helpful websites on researching Arab American genealogy, especially Lebanese and Syrian genealogy.

Arab American Historical Foundation. The Arab American Historical Foundation has genealogy services. Contact them for more information.

Researching Your Lebanese or Syrian Ancestry by Sandra Hasser Bennett. This helpful article overviews how to begin researching the earlier wave of Arab immigrants from Lebanon and Syria.

Lebanese Genealogy Facebook Group. A public Facebook group where people can share stories, photos, and get help with their Lebanese genealogy.  

FamilySearch Wikis. There are wikis for all the countries in the Middle East, but the wikis for Jordan and Lebanon are the most comprehensive.

FamilySearch. FamilySearch does have some information on books and other resources. Use the FamilySearch search feature to find these items by going to Catalog, then search by Place. Very few of these are online but are available in the Family History Library. You can also use the WorldCat link for each search result to see if the book is in a library near you.

Do you know any other Arab American genealogy resources? Please share in the comments!