Find out how popular the last name Bonaparte is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bonaparte.

Bonaparte, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bonaparte surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bonaparte in America

Bonaparte is the 13397th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bonaparte surname appeared 2,274 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bonaparte.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bonaparte to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bonaparte

The surname Bonaparte is of Italian origin, originating from the northern Italian region of Liguria in the late 15th century. The name is derived from the Italian words "buona" meaning "good" and "parte" meaning "part" or "share," suggesting it may have been an occupational surname referring to someone who was a fair arbitrator or mediator.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the Republic of Genoa from the late 15th century, where a man named Giovanni Bonaparte is mentioned. The name was also found in other parts of Liguria, such as the town of Calvi, where a family with the surname Bonaparte resided in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the town of Ajaccio, located on the island of Corsica, which was part of the Republic of Genoa at the time. One of the most notable individuals with this surname was Carlo Bonaparte (1746-1785), who was a prominent Corsican lawyer and politician.

However, the most famous person to bear the surname Bonaparte was undoubtedly Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), the French military leader and emperor who rose to power during the French Revolution and conquered much of Europe. His family originated from Ajaccio, Corsica, and he was born to Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino.

Other notable individuals with the surname Bonaparte include Napoleon's brothers, Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), who served as the King of Naples and Spain, and Louis Bonaparte (1778-1846), who was the King of Holland. Additionally, Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851-1921), a grandson of King Jerome Bonaparte (Napoleon's youngest brother), served as the United States Secretary of the Navy and Attorney General under President Theodore Roosevelt.

The surname Bonaparte has also been found in other European countries, such as Spain and Germany, likely due to the influence and migrations of individuals related to Napoleon's family during the Napoleonic Wars and the establishment of the Bonaparte dynasty.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bonaparte

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bonaparte.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bonaparte was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bonaparte has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bonaparte was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bonaparte, please contact us.

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