2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Ermitano
A surname referring to a hermit or recluse.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Ermitano. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ermitano 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Ermitano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ermitano, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.3%) and Hispanic (7.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ermitano
The surname Ermitano originated in Italy during the medieval period. It derives from the Italian word "eremita," meaning "hermit," which in turn comes from the Greek word "eremos," meaning "desert" or "uninhabited place." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived a solitary or reclusive life, perhaps as a religious hermit or someone who lived in an isolated area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ermitano dates back to the 13th century in the town of Siena, Tuscany. In a document from 1264, a man named Giovanni Ermitano was mentioned as a landowner in the region. This indicates that the name had already become established as a hereditary surname by that time.
In the 14th century, the Ermitano family held considerable influence in the city of Genoa, where they were involved in maritime trade and commerce. A prominent member of the family was Oberto Ermitano, a wealthy merchant who lived from around 1320 to 1390. He is recorded as having commissioned several artworks and buildings in Genoa, showcasing the family's wealth and status.
The surname Ermitano also appears in historical records from other parts of Italy, such as Naples and Sicily. In the 16th century, a notable figure was Girolamo Ermitano, born in Messina, Sicily, around 1510. He was a renowned philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on topics related to Aristotelian and Thomistic thought.
Another significant individual was Ludovico Ermitano, a painter born in Bologna in the late 16th century (circa 1590). He is known for his religious artworks, particularly his altarpieces and frescoes adorning churches in Bologna and the surrounding region.
In the 18th century, the Ermitano family produced several scholars and intellectuals. One such figure was Antonio Ermitano, born in Naples in 1725. He was a respected linguist and philologist who contributed to the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts.
Over the centuries, the surname Ermitano has also been associated with various place names and locations within Italy. For instance, there is a village called Ermitano in the province of Lecce, Apulia, which may have derived its name from the surname or vice versa.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ermitano
Among Census respondents with the surname Ermitano, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.3%) and Hispanic (7.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ermitano 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 Ermitano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.6% · 85
- Two or more races10.3% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 9
- White6.8% · 8
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ermitano
Ermitano appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+14 bearers (+13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,964 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.6%) | Up 12,964 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 Ermitano 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 | #157,234 | #144,270 | 8.2% |
| Count | 103 | 117 | 13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 30.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ermitano bearers went from 103 to 117 (+13.6% change). The surname moved up 12,964 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #144,270.
FAQ
Ermitano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ermitano?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Ermitano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Ermitano?
Ermitano ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Ermitano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Ermitano.
Has Ermitano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ermitano went from 103 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 14 (+13.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Ermitano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ermitano, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.3%) and Hispanic (7.7%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ermitano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ermitano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (72.6%), Two or More Races (10.3%), Hispanic (7.7%). 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 Ermitano (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 Ermitano mean?
A surname referring to a hermit or recluse. 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 Ermitano (0.04 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 Ermitano?
Want to know how many people have the last name Ermitano? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.