2000
#10,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,769
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Foti
Derived from the Italian word "foti," meaning "castrated ram," likely referring to a shepherd or sheep farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,878 Americans carry the last name Foti. That puts it at #11,920 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,095 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foti 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
2.9K
1 in 119,095
Census rank
#11,920
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,510 bearers of the surname Foti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11920th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foti, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foti
The surname Foti has its origins in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of Sicily and Calabria. It is believed to have derived from the Greek word "phos" or "photos," meaning light or illumination. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked with light or fire, such as a candlemaker or a lighthouse keeper.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Foti can be found in the Sicilian census records from the 16th century. During this time, the name was often spelled as "Fothi" or "Fotis," reflecting the Greek influence in the region.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Foti surname became more widespread throughout southern Italy. Notable individuals bearing this name during this period include Vincenzo Foti (1615-1688), a prominent Sicilian merchant and landowner, and Gaetano Foti (1778-1856), a Calabrian philosopher and writer.
As the Foti family spread across Italy, they also established roots in various cities and towns. For instance, the town of Foti di Arcevia in the Marche region is believed to have been named after a Foti family who settled there in the Middle Ages.
One of the most famous individuals with the Foti surname is Salvatore Foti (1853-1925), an Italian-American artist and sculptor known for his work on various public monuments in New York City, including the famous Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch in Brooklyn.
Other notable figures with the Foti surname include Antonio Foti (1906-1982), an Italian film director and screenwriter; Giovanni Foti (1899-1965), a Sicilian politician and lawyer; and Vincenzo Foti (1923-2008), an Italian-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Foti Ophthalmic Institute in Philadelphia.
While the Foti surname has its roots in southern Italy, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through Italian immigration to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foti
Among Census respondents with the surname Foti, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Foti 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 Foti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,318
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 103
- Two or more races1.9% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 29
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foti
Foti 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
#11,653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,690
-79 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 1,031 places
2020
#11,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,510
-180 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 267 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,622 | 2,769 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,653 | 2,690 | 0.91 | -79 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 1,031 places |
| 2020 | #11,920 | 2,510 | 0.84 | -180 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 267 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 Foti 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 | #11,653 | #11,920 | -2.3% |
| Count | 2,690 | 2,510 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.84 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foti bearers went from 2,690 to 2,510 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 267 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,653 to #11,920.
FAQ
Foti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foti?
Name Census estimates that about 2,878 living Americans carry the surname Foti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,095 residents.
How common is Foti?
Foti ranks #11,920 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,510 people with the surname Foti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,878), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Foti.
Has Foti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foti went from 2,690 recorded bearers to 2,510. That is a decrease of 180 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,653 to #11,920.
What does the Census say about the background of Foti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foti, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Foti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,318 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foti appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Foti (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 Foti mean?
Derived from the Italian word "foti," meaning "castrated ram," likely referring to a shepherd or sheep farmer. 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 Foti (0.84 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 Foti?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.