2000
#2,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,090
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.48
Uncommon Last name
Ferraro
An occupational surname referring to a blacksmith or ironworker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,528 Americans carry the last name Ferraro. That puts it at #2,986 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,337 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ferraro 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ferraro with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 25,337
Census rank
#2,986
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,797 bearers of the surname Ferraro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2986th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferraro, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The name Ferraro can be found in various historical documents and records, including the Codice Diplomatico Siciliano, which contains references to individuals with this surname in Sicily during the 12th and 13th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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ferraro
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferraro, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Ferraro 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 Ferraro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 10,609
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 735
- Two or more races2.1% · 249
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 101
- Black or African American0.8% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ferraro
Ferraro 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
#2,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,355
+265 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 4.19
Rank movement Down 161 places
2020
#2,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,797
-558 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 3.95
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,742 | 12,090 | 4.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,903 | 12,355 | 4.19 | +265 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 161 places |
| 2020 | #2,986 | 11,797 | 3.95 | -558 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 83 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 Ferraro 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 | #2,903 | #2,986 | -2.9% |
| Count | 12,355 | 11,797 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.19 | 3.95 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ferraro bearers went from 12,355 to 11,797 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,903 to #2,986.
FAQ
Ferraro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ferraro?
Name Census estimates that about 13,528 living Americans carry the surname Ferraro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,337 residents.
How common is Ferraro?
Ferraro ranks #2,986 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,797 people with the surname Ferraro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,528), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Ferraro.
Has Ferraro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ferraro went from 12,355 recorded bearers to 11,797. That is a decrease of 558 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,903 to #2,986.
What does the Census say about the background of Ferraro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferraro, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Ferraro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (10,609 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ferraro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (6.2%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Ferraro (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 Ferraro mean?
An occupational surname referring to a blacksmith or ironworker. 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 Ferraro (3.95 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 Ferraro?
See how common the surname Ferraro is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.