2000
#6,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,588
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.70
Rare Last name
Alfano
Derived from the Germanic personal name Adalfuns, meaning "noble and ready."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,955 Americans carry the last name Alfano. That puts it at #7,433 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,173 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alfano surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Alfano with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.0K
1 in 69,173
Census rank
#7,433
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,321 bearers of the surname Alfano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7433rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alfano, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alfano
The surname Alfano has its origins in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of Campania and Calabria, where it first emerged during the medieval period. The name is believed to be derived from the medieval Italian personal name "Alfano," which itself stems from the Germanic name "Alfwin" or "Alpwin," meaning "noble friend" or "elf friend."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Alfano can be found in the historic Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of charters and deeds from the Benedictine monastery of Cava de' Tirreni in Campania, dating back to the 11th century. This document mentions individuals with the surname Alfano, suggesting the name's presence in the region during that time.
In the 13th century, the Alfano surname appears in various records and documents from the Kingdom of Naples and the surrounding areas. Notable individuals bearing this name include Giacomo Alfano, a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Salerno, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
During the Renaissance period, the Alfano family gained prominence in the city of Naples, where they were involved in various professions, including law, medicine, and the arts. One notable figure was Battista Alfano, a renowned philosopher and humanist who lived between 1505 and 1573.
In the 17th century, the Alfano surname is associated with the town of Grottaminarda in the province of Avellino, where a branch of the family settled and established itself. Tommaso Alfano, born in 1658, was a prominent Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Sarno from 1707 until his death in 1725.
The 18th century saw the rise of several distinguished individuals bearing the Alfano name, including Michelangelo Alfano (1700-1768), a celebrated painter from Naples known for his religious and mythological works, and Gaetano Alfano (1741-1815), a prominent lawyer and judge from the same city.
As the surname spread across Italy and beyond, other notable figures emerged, such as the Italian-American sculptor Vincenzo Alfano (1835-1923), renowned for his public monuments and sculptures adorning various cities in the United States and Italy.
Throughout its history, the Alfano surname has been associated with various place names and locations, including the town of Alfano in the province of Salerno, which may have contributed to the surname's origins or served as a place of residence for early bearers of the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alfano
Among Census respondents with the surname Alfano, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Alfano bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alfano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 3,921
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 271
- Two or more races1.7% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 36
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alfano
Alfano appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,088
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,724
+136 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Down 316 places
2020
#7,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,321
-403 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Down 345 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,772 | 4,588 | 1.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,088 | 4,724 | 1.60 | +136 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 316 places |
| 2020 | #7,433 | 4,321 | 1.45 | -403 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 345 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alfano surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,088 | #7,433 | -4.9% |
| Count | 4,724 | 4,321 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.60 | 1.45 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alfano bearers went from 4,724 to 4,321 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 345 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,088 to #7,433.
FAQ
Alfano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alfano?
Name Census estimates that about 4,955 living Americans carry the surname Alfano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,173 residents.
How common is Alfano?
Alfano ranks #7,433 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,321 people with the surname Alfano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,955), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Alfano.
Has Alfano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alfano went from 4,724 recorded bearers to 4,321. That is a decrease of 403 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,088 to #7,433.
What does the Census say about the background of Alfano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alfano, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alfano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (3,921 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alfano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (6.3%), Two or More Races (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alfano (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alfano mean?
Derived from the Germanic personal name Adalfuns, meaning "noble and ready." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alfano (1.45 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Alfano?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Alfano at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.