2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Atonal
An unconventional surname possibly derived from musical terminology referring to a lack of tonality or key.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Atonal. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atonal 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Atonal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atonal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%) and White (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atonal
The surname ATONAL has its origins in the ancient Greek language, deriving from the word "atonos," which means "without tone" or "unaccented." This name likely emerged during the Byzantine period, around the 5th to 15th centuries AD, when the Greek language and culture had a significant influence across the regions of modern-day Greece, Turkey, and parts of the Balkans.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ATONAL can be traced back to a legal document from the 9th century, which mentions a scholar named Konstantinos Atonalis residing in the city of Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. This document suggests that the name may have been used to distinguish individuals who had a particular expertise or association with the study of tonality or music theory.
During the Middle Ages, the ATONAL surname began to spread across the Mediterranean region, as various families and individuals migrated or traveled for academic, religious, or commercial purposes. In the 12th century, a monk named Petros Atonalis was recorded as a member of the monastic community at the Monastery of Hosios Loukas in central Greece.
As the Renaissance period dawned, the ATONAL name gained further recognition through the works of notable scholars and artists. One such individual was the Italian composer and theorist Gioseffo Atonal, born in 1487 in Venice, who is credited with developing innovative techniques in atonal music composition, which challenged the traditional tonal systems of the time.
In the 17th century, the name ATONAL was also found in the records of the University of Oxford, where a professor of music theory named William Atonal taught and published several treatises on the subject of atonality and its applications in various musical genres.
Another notable figure bearing the ATONAL surname was the French artist and printmaker, Marie-Thérèse Atonal (1725-1805), whose etchings and engravings depicting scenes from classical mythology were highly acclaimed during the Enlightenment era.
Throughout the centuries, the ATONAL surname has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, reflecting the diverse cultural and intellectual influences that have shaped its meaning and significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atonal
Among Census respondents with the surname Atonal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%) and White (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Atonal 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 Atonal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.4% · 108
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- White0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atonal
Atonal 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
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+12 bearers (+12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,021 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+12.0%) | Up 13,021 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 Atonal 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 | #160,975 | #147,954 | 8.1% |
| Count | 100 | 112 | 12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 24.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atonal bearers went from 100 to 112 (+12.0% change). The surname moved up 13,021 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #147,954.
FAQ
Atonal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atonal?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Atonal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Atonal?
Atonal ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Atonal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Atonal.
Has Atonal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atonal went from 100 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 12 (+12.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Atonal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atonal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.4%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%) and White (0.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Atonal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atonal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (96.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%), White (0.9%). 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 Atonal (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 Atonal mean?
An unconventional surname possibly derived from musical terminology referring to a lack of tonality or key. 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 Atonal (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 Atonal?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Atonal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.