2000
#7,806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,929
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Fanelli
Derived from the Italian word "fanello," meaning a goldfinch or linnet bird, likely referring to a bird catcher or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,057 Americans carry the last name Fanelli. That puts it at #8,886 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,485 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fanelli 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
4.1K
1 in 84,485
Census rank
#8,886
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,538 bearers of the surname Fanelli in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8886th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fanelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fanelli
The surname Fanelli has its origins in Italy, tracing back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "fanum," meaning a temple or sacred place, indicating that the name may have been associated with someone who lived near or worked at a temple.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fanelli is found in the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of medieval documents from the city of Bari in southern Italy, dating back to the 13th century. This suggests that the name may have been prominent in the region of Puglia during this time.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records from the city of Florence, such as the Catasto Fiorentino, a tax record from 1427. This indicates that the Fanelli family had established a presence in Tuscany by this period.
One notable individual bearing the Fanelli surname was Giovanni Battista Fanelli, an Italian painter born in 1592 in the town of Viterbo, near Rome. He was known for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches in central Italy.
Another prominent figure was Francesco Fanelli, a Neapolitan philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 17th century. He authored several works on mathematics and logic, including "Elementi Geometrici" (Geometric Elements) published in 1650.
In the 18th century, the Fanelli name gained recognition through the works of Gian Giacomo Fanelli, an Italian composer and violinist born in 1679 in Turin. He composed numerous operas and instrumental pieces, contributing to the development of Italian Baroque music.
The 19th century saw the rise of Ferdinando Fanelli, an Italian patriot and revolutionary born in 1825 in Campobasso, Molise. He played a significant role in the Italian unification movement, known as the Risorgimento, and was a close associate of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Another notable figure from this period was Michele Stefano Fanelli, born in 1808 in Naples. He was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Naples from 1848 to 1849, during a turbulent period of political upheaval in Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fanelli
Among Census respondents with the surname Fanelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Fanelli 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 Fanelli surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 3,235
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 167
- Two or more races2.8% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 21
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fanelli
Fanelli 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
#7,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,493
+564 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Up 398 places
2020
#8,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,538
-955 bearers (-21.3%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 1,478 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,806 | 3,929 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,408 | 4,493 | 1.52 | +564 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 398 places |
| 2020 | #8,886 | 3,538 | 1.18 | -955 bearers (-21.3%) | Down 1,478 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 Fanelli 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 | #7,408 | #8,886 | -20.0% |
| Count | 4,493 | 3,538 | -21.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.52 | 1.18 | -22.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fanelli bearers went from 4,493 to 3,538 (-21.3% change). The surname moved down 1,478 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,408 to #8,886.
FAQ
Fanelli surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fanelli?
Name Census estimates that about 4,057 living Americans carry the surname Fanelli. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,485 residents.
How common is Fanelli?
Fanelli ranks #8,886 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 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 3,538 people with the surname Fanelli. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,057), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 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 Fanelli.
Has Fanelli become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fanelli went from 4,493 recorded bearers to 3,538. That is a decrease of 955 (-21.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,408 to #8,886.
What does the Census say about the background of Fanelli?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fanelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Fanelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (3,235 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fanelli appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (4.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Fanelli (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 Fanelli mean?
Derived from the Italian word "fanello," meaning a goldfinch or linnet bird, likely referring to a bird catcher or seller. 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 Fanelli (1.18 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 Fanelli?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Fanelli at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.