I Mississippi we got the early ones
Christian Arabs
Always referred to as Lebanese or Syrian
Saik
Daud anglicized to David
Malouf obviously
Simon or Shamoun
Louis anglicized from Elias
Thomas anglicized from its Aramaic origin
I knew quite a few and they settled in the delta post bellum as merchants though a few had filtered in prior to The War
They are fully assimilated and mostly catholic
The women are usually pretty like the David twins I knew in west Jax or a Louis girl I knew who’s daddy was a doc she was adorable and a good friend
A KD ole miss
I liked them in general
Duck hunted with Maloufs
I grew up with Iupes and simons in large families in my hood
Greeks were similar
And Italians in Dixie too
Merchants esp food and bev and haberdashery
Chinese also did well in the delta but didn’t assimilate like the whites so much
Anyhow
We just viewed them as peers usually more olive
Mom called them Syrians or Lebanese and rumor had it her Thomas family may have had one
They were swarthy but it Doesn’t show on my sons ancestry com
English
Irish
Scots
Ulster scots
A bit of danelaw and French
In other words typical FFV southern white
And I've ONLY known one person ( went to grammar school with her ) who was of Lebanese ancestry, when I was a child. She and her family were Catholics. Since she was my age and born here, her family must have been in America a rather long time. I think that her parents were also born here, as well. But how far back that goes, I am unaware.