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

Frate, 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 Frate surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Frate in America

Frate is the 48347th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Frate surname appeared 437 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 Frate.

We can also compare 2010 data for Frate 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 Frate

The surname FRATE has its origins in Italy, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Italian word "frate," which means "brother" or "friar," suggesting a possible connection to the religious orders or monastic communities of that time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the archives of the city of Siena, where a certain Frate Guido is mentioned in a document from 1278. This could indicate that the name initially referred to a member of a religious order or someone closely associated with a monastery.

In medieval Italy, it was not uncommon for individuals to adopt surnames based on their occupations, affiliations, or physical characteristics. The name FRATE may have been given to someone who had close ties to a monastic community or played a significant role within a religious order.

Another early record of the name can be found in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic work written by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. In this work, he mentions a certain Frate Giovanni, who was likely a fellow member of the Franciscan order.

As the centuries passed, the name FRATE spread beyond its initial religious connotations and became a more widespread surname in various regions of Italy. Notable individuals bearing this surname include:

1. Girolamo Frate (1558-1611), an Italian painter known for his religious works and portraits.
2. Pietro Frate (1628-1692), an Italian architect and engineer who worked on several notable buildings in Rome.
3. Antonio Frate (1732-1810), an Italian composer and violinist who served as a court musician in Naples.
4. Francesca Frate (1848-1924), an Italian educator and advocate for women's rights, who played a significant role in establishing educational institutions for girls in her native Tuscany.
5. Ettore Frate (1890-1976), an Italian politician and journalist who served as a member of the Italian Parliament and was known for his advocacy of social reforms.

While the surname FRATE may have had its origins in the religious sphere, it eventually became a more widespread surname, carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries in Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Frate

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!