2000
#3,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,943
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.32
Rare Last name
Florence
Derived from the French place name, referring to someone from the city of Florence in Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,882 Americans carry the last name Florence. That puts it at #4,001 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,685 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Florence 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 Florence with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,685
Census rank
#4,001
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,618 bearers of the surname Florence in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4001st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Florence, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Florence
The surname Florence is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name "Florentius," which is related to the Latin word "flos," meaning flower. This name is particularly associated with the city of Florence, Italy, which was known as "Florentia" in ancient Roman times.
The earliest recorded instances of the Florence surname can be traced back to the 12th century in the region of Tuscany, Italy. In medieval records, variations of the spelling include Fiorenza, Fiorentino, and Fiorenti.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Florence was Pietro di Fiorenza, a Florentine merchant who lived in the 13th century. His name appears in several historical documents related to trade and commerce in Florence during that period.
In the 14th century, the Florence surname gained prominence with the rise of the powerful Medici family in Florence. Members of this family, such as Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464) and Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), played pivotal roles in the Renaissance and the patronage of arts and culture.
Another notable individual bearing the Florence surname was Girolamo da Fiorenza, a 16th-century Italian engraver and printmaker known for his works depicting religious and mythological subjects.
During the 17th century, the surname spread beyond Italy as Italian immigrants and merchants settled in other parts of Europe and the Americas. One example is Joachim Florence, a French architect born in 1622, who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Louis-en-l'Île.
In the 18th century, William Florence (1718-1801) was a prominent English actor and playwright who performed in various theaters in London and wrote several popular comedies of his time.
Moving into the 19th century, William Jermyn Florence (1833-1891) was an American actor and playwright born in Albany, New York. He gained fame for his performances in various Shakespearean roles and wrote several successful plays.
Throughout its history, the Florence surname has been associated with individuals from various fields, including art, architecture, literature, and theater, reflecting its Italian origins and the cultural richness of the city of Florence.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Florence
Among Census respondents with the surname Florence, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Florence 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 Florence surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.7% · 4,888
- Black or African American33.8% · 2,914
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 363
- Two or more races3.9% · 339
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 52
Timeline
Historical Census data for Florence
Florence 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
#3,865
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,177
+234 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.11
Rank movement Down 213 places
2020
#4,001
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,618
-559 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 136 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,652 | 8,943 | 3.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,865 | 9,177 | 3.11 | +234 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 213 places |
| 2020 | #4,001 | 8,618 | 2.88 | -559 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 136 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 Florence 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 | #3,865 | #4,001 | -3.5% |
| Count | 9,177 | 8,618 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.11 | 2.88 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Florence bearers went from 9,177 to 8,618 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 136 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,865 to #4,001.
FAQ
Florence surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Florence?
Name Census estimates that about 9,882 living Americans carry the surname Florence. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,685 residents.
How common is Florence?
Florence ranks #4,001 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,618 people with the surname Florence. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,882), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Florence.
Has Florence become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Florence went from 9,177 recorded bearers to 8,618. That is a decrease of 559 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,865 to #4,001.
What does the Census say about the background of Florence?
Among Census respondents with the surname Florence, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Florence in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.7% (4,888 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Florence appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.7%), Black (33.8%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Florence (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 Florence mean?
Derived from the French place name, referring to someone from the city of Florence in Italy. 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 Florence (2.88 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 Americans have the surname Florence?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.