2000
#14,849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,830
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Bonacci
Italian surname derived from "bona" meaning good and "ventura" meaning fortune or luck.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,031 Americans carry the last name Bonacci. That puts it at #15,833 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 168,761 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bonacci 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
2.0K
1 in 168,761
Census rank
#15,833
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,771 bearers of the surname Bonacci in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15833rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonacci, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bonacci
The surname Bonacci has its origins in Italy, tracing back to the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "bona," meaning "good," and the Latin suffix "-accius," indicating a belonging or association. This combination suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone with a positive or favorable quality or character.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bonacci can be found in the 13th century, with the renowned Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano, better known as Fibonacci. Born around 1170 in Pisa, Fibonacci is credited with introducing the Hindu-Arabic numeral system to Europe and popularizing the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern that has since found applications in various fields, including art, architecture, and nature.
In the 14th century, the Bonacci name appeared in the Florentine Codex, a historical document that recorded the names and occupations of citizens in Florence during that period. This suggests that individuals bearing the Bonacci surname were likely residing in the Tuscan region of Italy at that time.
Another notable individual with the Bonacci surname was Giacomo Bonacci, an Italian painter and architect who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was known for his work on the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence and is believed to have been influenced by the renowned Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi.
In the 17th century, the Bonacci name gained prominence in the southern Italian region of Sicily. Giovanni Bonacci, born in Palermo in 1635, was a celebrated Sicilian poet and playwright whose works often explored themes of love and human emotions. His works were widely recognized and celebrated during his lifetime.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Giuseppe Bonacci was an Italian physician and scientist who made significant contributions to the field of ophthalmology. Born in Naples in 1831, he is credited with developing innovative surgical techniques for treating eye conditions and authored several influential publications on the subject.
As the surname Bonacci spread throughout Italy and beyond, it adopted various spellings and variations, such as Bonazzi, Bonazzi, and Bonacci. These variations often reflected regional dialects and linguistic evolutions over time. However, the core meaning and essence of the name remained rooted in its Italian origins and association with positive qualities or characteristics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bonacci
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonacci, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bonacci 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 Bonacci surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 1,624
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 73
- Two or more races2.9% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bonacci
Bonacci 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
#15,784
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,846
+16 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 935 places
2020
#15,833
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,771
-75 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Down 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,849 | 1,830 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,784 | 1,846 | 0.63 | +16 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 935 places |
| 2020 | #15,833 | 1,771 | 0.59 | -75 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 49 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 Bonacci 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 | #15,784 | #15,833 | -0.3% |
| Count | 1,846 | 1,771 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.59 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bonacci bearers went from 1,846 to 1,771 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,784 to #15,833.
FAQ
Bonacci surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bonacci?
Name Census estimates that about 2,031 living Americans carry the surname Bonacci. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 168,761 residents.
How common is Bonacci?
Bonacci ranks #15,833 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,771 people with the surname Bonacci. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,031), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Bonacci.
Has Bonacci become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bonacci went from 1,846 recorded bearers to 1,771. That is a decrease of 75 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,784 to #15,833.
What does the Census say about the background of Bonacci?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonacci, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bonacci in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (1,624 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bonacci appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Bonacci (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 Bonacci mean?
Italian surname derived from "bona" meaning good and "ventura" meaning fortune or luck. 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 Bonacci (0.59 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 Bonacci?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Bonacci at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.