2000
#64,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 287
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Bisogno
A surname of Italian origin meaning "need" or "necessity".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 355 Americans carry the last name Bisogno. That puts it at #68,391 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 965,505 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bisogno 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
355
1 in 965,505
Census rank
#68,391
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
310
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 310 bearers of the surname Bisogno in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 68391st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bisogno, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bisogno
The surname "Bisogno" is of Italian origin, deriving from the word "bisogno" which means "need" or "necessity" in Italian. This name likely originated in various regions of Italy during the late medieval or Renaissance period, around the 13th to 16th centuries.
The name may have been initially used as a descriptive surname for someone who was perceived as being in a state of need or poverty. Alternatively, it could have been given to individuals whose occupation was related to providing for the needs of others, such as merchants, traders, or those involved in charitable work.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Bisogno can be found in the records of the Republic of Venice, where a certain Giacomo Bisogno is mentioned in a document dated 1487. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 15th century in the Venetian region.
In the 16th century, there are records of a family named Bisogno residing in the town of Salerno, located in the Campania region of southern Italy. One notable member of this family was Giovanni Battista Bisogno, a scholar and poet who lived from 1535 to 1609.
Another early bearer of the surname Bisogno was Antonio Bisogno, a Neapolitan painter active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known for his religious works, such as the altarpiece he painted for the Church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples.
During the 17th century, the name appears in various Italian records, including those of the Papal States. One individual of note was Francesco Bisogno, a lawyer and jurist from Rome who lived from 1620 to 1691.
In the 18th century, a notable figure was Giuseppe Bisogno, a composer and musician born in Naples in 1743. He composed several operas and other works that were performed in various Italian cities during his lifetime.
As Italian immigration to other parts of the world increased in the 19th and 20th centuries, the surname Bisogno began to spread beyond Italy. However, it remains predominantly concentrated in the country of its origin, particularly in southern regions like Campania and Calabria.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bisogno
Among Census respondents with the surname Bisogno, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Bisogno 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 Bisogno surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 273
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 33
- Two or more races1.3% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bisogno
Bisogno 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
#64,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 310
+23 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 550 places
2020
#68,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 310
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 4,191 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #64,750 | 287 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #64,200 | 310 | 0.11 | +23 bearers (+8.0%) | Up 550 places |
| 2020 | #68,391 | 310 | 0.10 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 4,191 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 Bisogno 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 | #64,200 | #68,391 | -6.5% |
| Count | 310 | 310 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.10 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bisogno bearers went from 310 to 310 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 4,191 positions in the national ranking, going from #64,200 to #68,391.
FAQ
Bisogno surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bisogno?
Name Census estimates that about 355 living Americans carry the surname Bisogno. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 965,505 residents.
How common is Bisogno?
Bisogno ranks #68,391 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 310 people with the surname Bisogno. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Bisogno.
Has Bisogno become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bisogno went from 310 recorded bearers to 310. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #64,200 to #68,391.
What does the Census say about the background of Bisogno?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bisogno, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Bisogno in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (273 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bisogno appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Hispanic (10.6%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Bisogno (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 Bisogno mean?
A surname of Italian origin meaning "need" or "necessity". 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 Bisogno (0.10 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 Bisogno?
See how many Americans have the surname Bisogno on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.