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

Franco, 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 Franco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Franco in America

Franco is the 476th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Franco surname appeared 69,943 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 24 people would have the surname Franco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Franco 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.

The history of the last name Franco

The surname FRANCO is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin word "Francus" which means "free" or "freeman". It was originally used as a personal name during the Middle Ages.

The name is believed to have originated in the region of Lombardy in Northern Italy, where it first appeared in historical records as early as the 12th century. Some of the earliest recorded examples of the name include Guido Franco, a nobleman from Milan in the late 12th century, and Jacobo Franco, a merchant from Genoa in the 13th century.

As the name spread across Italy, it underwent various spelling variations such as Franchi, Franchin, and Franceschi. These variations often reflected regional dialects and local pronunciation differences.

The FRANCO surname is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most famous was Niccolo Franco, a 16th-century Italian poet and satirist born in Benevento in 1510 and died in 1569. Another prominent figure was Battista Franco, an Italian painter and etcher who lived from 1498 to 1561 and was known for his contributions to the Venetian Renaissance art scene.

In the 18th century, the name gained further prominence with the Italian philosopher and writer Francesco Franco, born in Naples in 1717 and died in 1790. He was known for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.

Another notable figure was Francisco Franco, the Spanish military general and dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. Although his surname was of Italian origin, he was born in Spain and played a pivotal role in the country's history during the 20th century.

The name FRANCO has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Francolise, a town in the province of Caserta, and the Francavilla municipalities found in several regions, including Abruzzo, Calabria, and Puglia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Franco

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

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 Franco was:

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

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

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

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