2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Charno
A surname of Polish origin, possibly a variation of the name "Czarny" meaning "black".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Charno. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Charno 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Charno in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Charno, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Charno
The surname Charno is believed to have originated in the Lombardy region of northern Italy during the late medieval period. The name is thought to be derived from the Italian word "carna," which means "flesh" or "meat," and may have been an occupational name for a butcher or meat seller.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Charno can be found in a document from the city of Milan dated 1389, which mentions a certain Pietro Charno, a butcher by trade. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 14th century.
In the 15th century, the Charno family appeared to have spread to other parts of northern Italy, as evidenced by records from the city of Verona that mention a Giovanni Charno, a wealthy merchant born in 1437.
As the centuries passed, the Charno name continued to be associated with various professions and trades, not just the meat industry. In the 16th century, a notable figure named Luca Charno (1512-1587) was a renowned architect and engineer who worked on several important projects in the Republic of Venice.
The name Charno also found its way into the annals of literature, with the Italian writer and philosopher Pietro Charno (1630-1701) gaining recognition for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.
Another famous bearer of the Charno name was the Italian painter and fresco artist Giambattista Charno (1678-1745), whose works can still be admired in several churches and palaces throughout northern Italy.
As the Charno family dispersed across Italy and beyond, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Carno, Carnio, and Charnio, but the core meaning and pronunciation remained largely intact.
While the surname Charno may have originated from humble beginnings as an occupational name, its rich history and association with notable individuals in various fields have lent it a sense of distinction and cultural significance within the Italian context.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charno
Among Census respondents with the surname Charno, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Charno 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 Charno surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Charno
Charno 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,136 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Down 11,136 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 1,289 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 Charno 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 | #156,044 | #154,755 | 0.8% |
| Count | 104 | 102 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Charno bearers went from 104 to 102 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 1,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #154,755.
FAQ
Charno surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Charno?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Charno. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Charno?
Charno ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Charno. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Charno.
Has Charno become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Charno went from 104 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Charno?
Among Census respondents with the surname Charno, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Charno in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Charno appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), Hispanic (1.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Charno (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 Charno mean?
A surname of Polish origin, possibly a variation of the name "Czarny" meaning "black". 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 Charno (0.03 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 have the last name Charno?
See how many people have the last name Charno on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.