Formento last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Formento

A surname derived from the Italian word for wheat, indicating ancestors associated with grain production or trade.

Formento, 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 Formento surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Formento in America

Formento is the 90113th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Formento surname appeared 205 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Formento.

We can also compare 2010 data for Formento 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank90113859964.68%
Count2052021.47%
Proportion per 100k0.070.070.00%

The history of the last name Formento

The surname Formento has its origins in Italy, and can be traced back to the 14th century. The name is derived from the Italian word "formento," which means wheat or grain, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have been involved in the cultivation or trade of these crops.

Formento is believed to have originated in the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy in northern Italy, where many families with this surname can be found in historical records. The earliest known record of the name appears in a document from the city of Turin, dated 1382, which mentions a person named Giovanni Formento.

During the Renaissance period, several individuals bearing the Formento surname achieved notable status. One such person was Antonio Formento (1470-1538), a renowned painter from the city of Modena, whose works can be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.

Another notable bearer of the Formento name was Girolamo Formento (1520-1592), a Catholic priest and theologian who played a significant role in the Council of Trent, a pivotal event in the Counter-Reformation movement.

In the 17th century, the Formento family gained prominence in the city of Naples, where they were involved in the thriving silk trade. One member of this family, Ferdinando Formento (1620-1690), was a successful merchant and philanthropist who founded a hospital for the poor in Naples.

Moving into the 18th century, Carlo Formento (1745-1815) was a prominent Italian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He served as the director of the observatory in Milan and was elected to the prestigious Accademia delle Scienze di Torino (Academy of Sciences of Turin).

Throughout history, the Formento surname has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Formento di Carpineti, a small village in the province of Reggio Emilia, and Formento di Casalgrande, a town in the province of Reggio Emilia. These place names likely originated from the presence of Formento families in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Formento

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

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 Formento was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only78.05%160
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only9.76%20
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin10.24%21

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 Formento has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White78.05%78.71%-0.84%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander9.76%9.90%-1.42%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic10.24%9.90%3.38%

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

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

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