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

Bonus, 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 Bonus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bonus in America

Bonus is the 38389th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bonus surname appeared 577 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bonus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bonus 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 Bonus

The surname BONUS originates from the Latin word "bonus", meaning "good" or "beneficial". It is believed to have originated as a nickname or descriptive name given to someone who was considered to be a good or virtuous person.

The earliest records of the surname BONUS can be traced back to Italy, where it was commonly found in various regions, including Tuscany, Lombardy, and Veneto, during the medieval period. In the 13th century, there are records of individuals with the surname BONUS in the city of Florence, where it was likely used as a descriptive name for someone of good character or reputation.

One of the earliest documented examples of the surname BONUS is found in a manuscript from the city of Pisa, dated around 1270, which mentions a certain "Bonus de Pisa". This suggests that the name was already in use in the region by the late 13th century.

Another notable early reference to the surname BONUS can be found in the records of the Republic of Venice, where a certain "Jacobus Bonus" is mentioned in a document from 1348. This individual was likely a prominent citizen or merchant in the city at the time.

As the surname BONUS spread throughout Italy and other parts of Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Bono, Boni, and Bonini. These variations often reflected regional dialects or linguistic influences.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname BONUS was Giovanni Bonus, a 14th-century Italian mathematician and astronomer from Ferrara, who lived between 1330 and 1388. He made significant contributions to the study of trigonometry and is considered one of the pioneers of Renaissance mathematics.

Another notable bearer of the surname BONUS was Petrus Bonus, a 15th-century Italian humanist and scholar from Lombardy, who lived from around 1420 to 1480. He was known for his translations of ancient Greek texts and his works on rhetoric and philosophy.

In the 16th century, there was a distinguished family known as the Boni or Bonii in the city of Bologna, Italy. One of its members, Pier Vincenzo Boni, was a renowned lawyer and jurisconsult who lived from 1543 to 1608.

In the 17th century, Giacomo Boni (1688-1766) was an Italian architect and engineer who worked on various projects in Rome, including the restoration of the Colosseum and the construction of the Palazzo Borghese.

Moving to more recent times, Camillo Boni (1827-1908) was an Italian archaeologist and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Roman architecture and topography. He was responsible for excavating and documenting many important sites in Rome, including the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bonus

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

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 Bonus 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 Bonus 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 Bonus was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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