2000
#15,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,745
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Difranco
Of French origin meaning "the free" or "the exempt one".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,111 Americans carry the last name Difranco. That puts it at #15,346 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,366 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Difranco 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
2.1K
1 in 162,366
Census rank
#15,346
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,841 bearers of the surname Difranco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15346th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Difranco, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Difranco
The surname DiFranco is of Italian origin, originating from the regions of Campania and Calabria in southern Italy. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.
The name DiFranco is derived from the personal name Franco, which comes from the Germanic word "franko," meaning "free" or "free man." This name was likely given to individuals who were freemen or had been granted freedom from serfdom or servitude.
In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled as "De Franco" or "Di Franco," indicating the individual's place of origin or the family they belonged to. The prefix "di" or "de" means "from" or "of" in Italian.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name DiFranco can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Monastery of Cava in Campania, dated to the 12th century.
Notable individuals with the surname DiFranco throughout history include:
1. Guglielmo DiFranco (c. 1240-1310), an Italian jurist and philosopher from Naples.
2. Francesca DiFranco (1456-1512), a noblewoman and philanthropist from Calabria, known for her support of the arts and education.
3. Antonio DiFranco (1614-1688), a Neapolitan architect who contributed to the design of several churches and palaces in Naples.
4. Domenico DiFranco (1692-1753), an Italian painter and fresco artist, renowned for his works in churches throughout Campania and Calabria.
5. Giuseppe DiFranco (1816-1888), an Italian patriot and soldier who fought in the Risorgimento movement for the unification of Italy.
The name DiFranco is also associated with several place names in southern Italy, such as the town of Francolise in Campania, which was originally called "Francoli" or "Franculisio," derived from the same root as the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Difranco
Among Census respondents with the surname Difranco, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Difranco 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 Difranco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 1,648
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 115
- Two or more races2.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 22
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Difranco
Difranco 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
#15,272
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,923
+178 bearers (+10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Up 149 places
2020
#15,346
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,841
-82 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 74 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,421 | 1,745 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,272 | 1,923 | 0.65 | +178 bearers (+10.2%) | Up 149 places |
| 2020 | #15,346 | 1,841 | 0.62 | -82 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 74 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 Difranco 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 | #15,272 | #15,346 | -0.5% |
| Count | 1,923 | 1,841 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.65 | 0.62 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Difranco bearers went from 1,923 to 1,841 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 74 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,272 to #15,346.
FAQ
Difranco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Difranco?
Name Census estimates that about 2,111 living Americans carry the surname Difranco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,366 residents.
How common is Difranco?
Difranco ranks #15,346 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,841 people with the surname Difranco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Difranco.
Has Difranco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Difranco went from 1,923 recorded bearers to 1,841. That is a decrease of 82 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,272 to #15,346.
What does the Census say about the background of Difranco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Difranco, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Difranco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (1,648 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Difranco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Hispanic (6.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Difranco (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 Difranco mean?
Of French origin meaning "the free" or "the exempt one". 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 Difranco (0.62 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 surname Difranco?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.