Show ContentsAli History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Ali family

The surname Ali was first found in the areas around Ali Superiore and Ali Terme, both places in Sicily. The name Ali originated from the names of these two places. Most likely, it was given to someone who had lived in one of those places, but then moved elsewhere, where he took the name to identify himself by his place of origin. Though the name is much more common in Sicily than elsewhere, it has spread to mainland Italy over the ages. Other spelling variations of Ali which end in "i" are mostly from the north, whereas those that end in "o" come from the south.

Early History of the Ali family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ali research. Another 49 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1387, 1640, 1690, 1749 and 1803 are included under the topic Early Ali History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ali Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ali, Aliotto, Aliotti, Aliotta and others.

Early Notables of the Ali family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times was

  • Bonaventura Aliotti, O.F.M. (1640-1690), an Italian Franciscan friar, organist and composer

Ali World Ranking

In the United States, the name Ali is the 1,733rd most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Ali is ranked the 273rd most popular surname with an estimated 15,430 people with that name. 2 And in France, the name Ali is the 3,767th popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 3 Australia ranks Ali as 656th with 5,957 people. 4 New Zealand ranks Ali as 586th with 1,220 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Ali as 151st with 34,497 people. 6

Migration of the Ali family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: bearers of the $ family name, who settled along the east coast of North America in the late 19th century.


Contemporary Notables of the name Ali (post 1700) +

  • Muhammad (Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) Ali (1942-2016), American boxer, three time World Heavyweight Champion, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • Mr. Sarfraz Ali M.B.E., British President for Pakistan Association Liverpool, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to Community Cohesion and Integration in Liverpool 7
  • Johneshwy Ali Fargas (b. 1994), Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets (2021-)
  • Musarrat Ali Bittan (b. 1971), Indian politician and a member of the Sixteenth Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in India
  • Mohamed Ali Sassi (b. 1980), Tunisian Olympic boxer at the 2004 Summer Olympics
  • Habib Ali Kiddie (1929-1987), Pakistani gold and silver medalist field hockey player from 1950 to 1964
  • Othman Ali Abbott Jr. (1874-1954), American politician, Mayor of Grand Island, Nebraska, 1932, 1939-40 8
  • Othman Ali Abbott (1842-1935), American Republican politician, Member of Nebraska State Senate, 1872; Delegate to Nebraska State Constitutional Convention, 1875; Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, 1877-79 8
  • Ali Cobby Eckermann (b. 1963), Australian poet of Aboriginal Australian ancestry
  • Ali Hepher (b. 1974), English rugby union player and coach

RMS Titanic
  • Mr. William Ali (d. 1912), aged 25, Argentine Third Class passenger from Buenos Aires who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking and was recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett 9
  • Mr. Ahmed Ali (d. 1912), aged 24, Argentine Third Class passenger from Buenos Aires who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 9


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  3. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  4. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  5. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  6. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  7. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  9. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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