2000
#7,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,902
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.45
Rare Last name
Fortunato
Derived from the Italian word meaning "fortunate" or "lucky," often bestowed as a nickname for a lucky person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,321 Americans carry the last name Fortunato. That puts it at #8,419 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,323 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fortunato 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 Fortunato with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,323
Census rank
#8,419
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,768 bearers of the surname Fortunato in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8419th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fortunato, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fortunato
The surname Fortunato is of Italian origin, deriving from the Latin adjective "fortunatus" meaning "lucky" or "blessed." It is believed to have originated as a nickname or a descriptive surname during the Middle Ages in Italy.
The earliest known records of the Fortunato surname can be found in various Italian historical documents and records, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval charters from the Campania region, dating back to the 11th century. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the regions of Campania, Lazio, and Calabria.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Fortunato surname was Fortunato Guidi, a Florentine nobleman who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the political and military affairs of the time and played a crucial role in the conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Florence.
Another notable individual with the Fortunato surname was Giovanni Fortunato, a 15th-century Italian humanist and scholar from Naples. He was widely respected for his contributions to the study of classical literature and his translation of various ancient Greek and Latin texts.
During the Renaissance period, the Fortunato family gained prominence in the city of Naples. One of its members, Girolamo Fortunato, was a renowned architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings and structures in the city, including the Palazzo Reale di Napoli.
In the 17th century, Francesco Fortunato was a celebrated painter from Calabria, known for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches throughout southern Italy. His masterpiece, "The Assumption of the Virgin," can be found in the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria.
Another figure of note was Giuseppe Fortunato, an Italian politician and historian from Basilicata who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a prominent advocate for the rights of peasants and played a significant role in the discussion of the "Southern Question" in Italy.
The Fortunato surname has also been found in various other regions of Italy, including Sardinia and Sicily, as well as in other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with significant Italian immigration, such as Argentina, Brazil, and the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fortunato
Among Census respondents with the surname Fortunato, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fortunato 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 Fortunato surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.9% · 2,974
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 567
- Two or more races2.5% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 90
- Black or African American1.1% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fortunato
Fortunato 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
#8,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,047
+145 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 337 places
2020
#8,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,768
-279 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 218 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,864 | 3,902 | 1.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,201 | 4,047 | 1.37 | +145 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 337 places |
| 2020 | #8,419 | 3,768 | 1.26 | -279 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 218 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 Fortunato 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 | #8,201 | #8,419 | -2.7% |
| Count | 4,047 | 3,768 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.37 | 1.26 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fortunato bearers went from 4,047 to 3,768 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 218 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,201 to #8,419.
FAQ
Fortunato surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fortunato?
Name Census estimates that about 4,321 living Americans carry the surname Fortunato. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,323 residents.
How common is Fortunato?
Fortunato ranks #8,419 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,768 people with the surname Fortunato. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,321), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Fortunato.
Has Fortunato become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fortunato went from 4,047 recorded bearers to 3,768. That is a decrease of 279 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,201 to #8,419.
What does the Census say about the background of Fortunato?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fortunato, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Fortunato in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.9% (2,974 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fortunato appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.9%), Hispanic (15.0%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Fortunato (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 Fortunato mean?
Derived from the Italian word meaning "fortunate" or "lucky," often bestowed as a nickname for a lucky person. 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 Fortunato (1.26 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 share the surname Fortunato?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.