Bonifacio
Masculine name of Latin origin meaning "well-doer" or "prosperous journey".
Name Census estimates that about 961 living Americans carry the first name Bonifacio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bonifacio today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bonifacio births was 1930 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bonifacio. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
961
~ 1 in 356,664 Americans
Peak year
1930
35 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,013
Tracked since 1900
Census
Bonifacio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,900 people with the first name Bonifacio, which placed it at #4,680 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,680
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,900 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
77.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bonifacio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bonifacio is Hispanic at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.5%) and White (1.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bonifacio described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bonifacio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino77.2% · 3,011
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.5% · 799
- White1.4% · 54
- Two or more races0.3% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
Popularity
Bonifacio: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bonifacio from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 207 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bonifacio by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bonifacio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bonifacios live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Bonifacio, while Hawaii, New Mexico, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 175 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bonifacio
The name Bonifacio has its origins in the Late Latin name Bonifatius, derived from the Latin words bonus ("good") and fatus ("destiny" or "fate"). It was a name given to boys in the hope that they would have a good or fortunate destiny. The name first appeared in the 3rd century AD and was initially popularized among early Christian communities.
Bonifacio gained particular prominence during the Middle Ages, when several notable individuals bore this name. One of the earliest and most renowned was Pope Boniface I, who reigned from 418 to 422 AD. Another influential figure was the 8th-century English scholar and saint, Boniface of Crediton, who played a crucial role in the Christianization of Germanic parts of Europe.
In the 13th century, the name was borne by Bonifacio Calvo, an Italian lawyer and statesman who served as a diplomat for the Republic of Genoa. He is remembered for his involvement in the Treaty of Nymphaeum, which established peace between Genoa and the Empire of Nicaea in 1261.
The 16th century saw the rise of the Italian painter Bonifacio Veronese, whose real name was Bonifacio de' Pitati (1487-1553). He was a notable artist from Verona and is best known for his religious works, particularly his altarpieces and frescoes in churches throughout Northern Italy.
Another notable bearer of the name was the 17th-century Spanish explorer and navigator Bonifacio Sobrino (1592-1658). He led several expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and is credited with discovering the Solomon Islands in 1567, as well as exploring parts of the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands.
In the 19th century, the name was borne by the Italian patriot and revolutionary Bonifacio Cuomo (1808-1876). He played a significant role in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification and independence, and was a close associate of the famous revolutionary leader Giuseppe Garibaldi.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Bonifacio, reflecting its enduring presence across different cultures and time periods.
People
Bonifacio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bonifacio as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bonifacio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bonifacio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 961 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bonifacio going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 356,664 US residents.
Is Bonifacio a common name?
We classify Bonifacio as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,568 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bonifacio most popular?
The single biggest year for Bonifacio was 1930, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bonifacio is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bonifacio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,900 people with the name Bonifacio, or 1.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,680 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bonifacio in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bonifacio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bonifacio appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,903 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bonifacio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bonifacio is Hispanic at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.5%) and White (1.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bonifacio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Bonifacio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.2% (3,011 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bonifacio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bonifacio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bonifacio in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bonifacio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bonifacio in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bonifacio can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Bonifacio as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.