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

Ferraro, 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 Ferraro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ferraro in America

Ferraro is the 2903rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ferraro surname appeared 12,355 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Ferraro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ferraro 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 Ferraro

The surname Ferraro originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "ferro," meaning iron, and was likely an occupational name given to someone who worked as a blacksmith or ironworker.

The earliest recorded instances of the Ferraro surname can be traced back to the 12th century in various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Lazio, and Sicily. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name were members of noble families, such as the Ferraro family of Naples, who were prominent in the 13th and 14th centuries.

In the late 13th century, a Genoese explorer named Lanzarotto Ferraro is believed to have accompanied Marco Polo on his expeditions to Asia. Historical records also mention a nobleman named Giacomo Ferraro, who was a prominent figure in the court of King Robert of Naples in the early 14th century.

The name Ferraro can be found in various historical documents and records, including the Codice Diplomatico Siciliano, which contains references to individuals with this surname in Sicily during the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 15th century, the Ferraro family was among the noble families of Palermo, Sicily, and their coat of arms is still preserved in the city's archives.

Notable individuals with the surname Ferraro include the Italian philosopher and theologian Francesco Ferraro (1489-1549), who was a prominent figure during the Renaissance. Another notable bearer of the name was the Italian composer and violinist Giovanni Ferraro (1540-1609), who was a contemporary of Monteverdi and contributed to the development of early Baroque music.

In more recent history, Geraldine Ferraro (1935-2011) was a prominent American politician and the first woman to be nominated as a vice-presidential candidate of a major political party in the United States. She was the running mate of Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential election.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ferraro

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

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

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

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