2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Baffo
An Italian surname possibly derived from the word "baffi" meaning moustache.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Baffo. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baffo 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Baffo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baffo, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (10.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baffo
The surname Baffo finds its origins in Italy, with records dating back to the medieval period. The name is believed to derive from the Italian word "baffo," meaning "mustache," suggesting it may have been a descriptive nickname for an individual with a prominent mustache.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Baffo can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Padovano, a collection of historical documents from the city of Padua, dating back to the 13th century. This record mentions an individual named Giacomo Baffo, who lived in the region during that time.
Baffo is also known to have been present in Venice during the Renaissance period. The name appears in several Venetian archives and documents from the 15th and 16th centuries, indicating the presence of a prominent Baffo family in the city-state.
The Baffo surname gained particular prominence in the 18th century with Giorgio Baffo (1694-1768), a Venetian poet and satirist known for his risqué and controversial works. His poetry, which often explored themes of love and sexuality, earned him both acclaim and criticism during his lifetime.
Another notable figure with the Baffo surname was Giovanni Baffo (1741-1799), a Venetian nobleman and diplomat. He served as the ambassador of the Venetian Republic to various European courts and played a significant role in the political affairs of his time.
In the 19th century, Vincenzo Baffo (1820-1892) made his mark as a prominent Italian painter and sculptor. Born in Naples, his works were widely acclaimed and can be found in several prestigious museums and galleries across Italy.
Girolamo Baffo (1539-1604), a Venetian historian and philosopher, is also noteworthy. His writings on the history and culture of Venice during the Renaissance period are considered valuable sources of information about that era.
Throughout its history, the Baffo surname has been present in various regions of Italy, particularly in the northern regions of Veneto and Lombardy, as well as in the southern regions of Campania and Sicily.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baffo
Among Census respondents with the surname Baffo, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (10.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Baffo 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 Baffo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.0% · 64
- Black or African American21.9% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 11
- Two or more races5.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baffo
Baffo 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+4 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,971 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-25 bearers (-19.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,379 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 4,971 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -25 bearers (-19.2%) | Down 22,379 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 Baffo 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 | #130,610 | #152,989 | -17.1% |
| Count | 130 | 105 | -19.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baffo bearers went from 130 to 105 (-19.2% change). The surname moved down 22,379 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #152,989.
FAQ
Baffo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baffo?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Baffo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Baffo?
Baffo ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Baffo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Baffo.
Has Baffo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baffo went from 130 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 25 (-19.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Baffo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baffo, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (10.5%). 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 Baffo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.0% (64 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baffo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.0%), Black (21.9%), Hispanic (10.5%). 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 Baffo (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 Baffo mean?
An Italian surname possibly derived from the word "baffi" meaning moustache. 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 Baffo (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 share the surname Baffo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.