2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Filetti
Italian surname derived from the word "filetto", meaning a small cord or string.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Filetti. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Filetti 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Filetti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Filetti, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Filetti
The surname Filetti is of Italian origin, originating in the regions of Tuscany and Lazio during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "filetto," which means "small thread" or "thin strip." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname to individuals involved in the textile industry, such as weavers or tailors.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Filetti can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Longobardo," a collection of historical documents from the Lombard era in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. This document mentions a certain "Petrus Filetti" residing in the town of Siena, Tuscany.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various municipal records of Florence, suggesting a presence of the Filetti family in the city during the Renaissance era. One notable figure from this time was Berto Filetti (1245-1312), a renowned painter and illuminator of manuscripts commissioned by the Medici family.
The Filetti name can also be traced to the town of Filettino, located in the province of Frosinone, Lazio. It is believed that some Filetti families may have originated from this town, which was once known as "Filecti" or "Filetti" in ancient Roman times.
In the 16th century, a prominent member of the Filetti family was Girolamo Filetti (1499-1572), a respected jurist and legal scholar from Siena. His treatises on legal philosophy and Roman law were widely studied and influenced the development of legal education in Italy.
Another notable individual bearing the Filetti surname was Vincenzo Filetti (1642-1720), a Baroque architect and engineer from Rome. He was responsible for the design and construction of several churches and palaces in the city, including the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena and the Palazzo Rospigliosi.
During the 19th century, the Filetti name gained further recognition with the birth of Giuseppe Filetti (1828-1897), a renowned Italian painter and engraver from Naples. His works, featuring landscapes and historical scenes, were exhibited at the Paris Salon and are part of collections in various museums across Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Filetti
Among Census respondents with the surname Filetti, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Filetti 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 Filetti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Filetti
Filetti 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+11 bearers (+9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,190 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-4 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,456 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+9.7%) | Up 1,190 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 6,456 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 Filetti 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 | #135,593 | #142,049 | -4.8% |
| Count | 124 | 120 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Filetti bearers went from 124 to 120 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 6,456 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #142,049.
FAQ
Filetti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Filetti?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Filetti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Filetti?
Filetti ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Filetti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Filetti.
Has Filetti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Filetti went from 124 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Filetti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Filetti, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Filetti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Filetti appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Filetti (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 Filetti mean?
Italian surname derived from the word "filetto", meaning a small cord or string. 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 Filetti (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 Filetti?
Want to know how many people have the last name Filetti? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.