2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Alimenti
An Italian occupational surname derived from the word for "nourishment" or "food."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Alimenti. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alimenti 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.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Alimenti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alimenti, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alimenti
The surname Alimenti is of Italian origin, derived from the Italian word "alimento" meaning food or nourishment. It is believed to have originated in the 13th century, likely as an occupational surname for those involved in the food trade, such as bakers, grocers, or suppliers of provisions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alimenti can be found in the records of the Republic of Venice, where a merchant named Giovanni Alimenti was mentioned in a trade document dated 1327. The name also appears in various medieval records from the regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, indicating its presence in northern Italy during that period.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Alimenti was Benedetto Alimenti, a renowned Italian jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Bologna. He was born in 1455 and died in 1525.
During the Renaissance era, the Alimenti family produced several notable artists and intellectuals. One of them was Niccolo Alimenti, a skilled painter and architect who lived in Florence in the late 16th century. His works can still be admired in various churches and palaces across Tuscany.
In the 17th century, the name Alimenti gained recognition in the field of literature with the poet and playwright Antonio Alimenti, born in Naples in 1620. He is best known for his pastoral dramas and poetic works that celebrated the beauty of the Neapolitan countryside.
Another prominent figure with the surname Alimenti was Girolamo Alimenti, a military commander and strategist who served under the Spanish crown during the 17th century. He was born in Sardinia in 1635 and played a crucial role in the defense of the island against French and Ottoman invaders.
Over the centuries, the Alimenti surname has spread across various regions of Italy, with notable concentrations found in the regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio. It has also been carried by Italian immigrants to other parts of the world, though its historical roots remain firmly grounded in the Italian peninsula.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alimenti
Among Census respondents with the surname Alimenti, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Alimenti 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 Alimenti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 102
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alimenti
Alimenti 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+10 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 698 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-6 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,297 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 698 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 6,297 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 Alimenti 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 | #143,149 | #149,446 | -4.4% |
| Count | 116 | 110 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alimenti bearers went from 116 to 110 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 6,297 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #149,446.
FAQ
Alimenti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alimenti?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Alimenti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Alimenti?
Alimenti ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Alimenti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Alimenti.
Has Alimenti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alimenti went from 116 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Alimenti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alimenti, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Alimenti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alimenti appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Alimenti (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 Alimenti mean?
An Italian occupational surname derived from the word for "nourishment" or "food." 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 Alimenti (0.04 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 Alimenti?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Alimenti at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.