2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Arsenio
A Spanish surname derived from the Latin name Arsenius, meaning "virile" or "masculine".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Arsenio. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arsenio 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Arsenio in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arsenio, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.6%) and Hispanic (11.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arsenio
The surname Arsenio has its origins in Italy, particularly in the regions of Campania and Sicily, where it first appeared in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name Arsenius, which itself comes from the Greek word "arsen," meaning "male" or "masculine."
Arsenio is believed to have emerged as a surname during the 12th or 13th century, when it was common practice to adopt surnames based on personal names or occupations. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents from Naples and Palermo, where families bearing the name Arsenio were prominent.
One notable early reference to the surname Arsenio comes from a 14th-century manuscript detailing the genealogy of a noble family from Salerno, which mentions several individuals with this last name. Additionally, records from the 15th century show that a branch of the Arsenio family settled in the town of Montella, in the province of Avellino, where they became influential landowners.
Among the earliest known individuals with the surname Arsenio was Giovanni Arsenio, a Neapolitan scholar and humanist who lived in the late 15th century and was renowned for his expertise in classical literature. Another notable figure was Antonio Arsenio, a 16th-century painter from Palermo whose works can be found in several churches and museums across Sicily.
In the 17th century, a prominent member of the Arsenio family was Nicola Arsenio, a lawyer and politician who served as a magistrate in Naples and played a significant role in the city's governance during the Spanish rule. Another individual of note was Vincenzo Arsenio, a Sicilian architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in Palermo during the 18th century.
One of the most famous bearers of the Arsenio surname was Giuseppe Arsenio, a 19th-century Italian patriot and revolutionary who fought for the unification of Italy alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi. Born in Naples in 1829, Arsenio played a crucial role in the Expedition of the Thousand and later served as a member of the Italian parliament.
While the surname Arsenio is most commonly associated with Italy, it has also been found in other parts of Europe and the Americas, likely due to migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arsenio
Among Census respondents with the surname Arsenio, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.6%) and Hispanic (11.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Arsenio 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 Arsenio surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander33.6% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino11.5% · 13
- Black or African American6.2% · 7
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arsenio
Arsenio appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,020 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 1,020 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 Arsenio 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 | #146,201 | #147,221 | -0.7% |
| Count | 113 | 113 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arsenio bearers went from 113 to 113 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 1,020 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #147,221.
FAQ
Arsenio surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arsenio?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Arsenio. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Arsenio?
Arsenio ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Arsenio. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Arsenio.
Has Arsenio become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arsenio went from 113 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Arsenio?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arsenio, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.6%) and Hispanic (11.5%). 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 Arsenio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.2% (50 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arsenio appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (44.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (33.6%), Hispanic (11.5%). 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 Arsenio (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 Arsenio mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the Latin name Arsenius, meaning "virile" or "masculine". 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 Arsenio (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 are called Arsenio?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Arsenio at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.