2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fronte
A surname originating from the Italian word "fronte," meaning forehead or brow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Fronte. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fronte 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Fronte in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fronte, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fronte
The surname Fronte originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Tuscany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "fronte," which means "forehead" or "brow." This suggests that the name may have been given as a nickname or descriptive term to someone with a prominent or distinctive forehead.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Fronte surname can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical documents from the Lombard period in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. In this document, a certain "Petrus de Fronte" is mentioned, indicating the presence of the surname in that era.
During the 13th century, the Fronte family was well-established in the city of Florence, where they held influential positions and were involved in local politics. Notable figures from this period include Guido Fronte, a prominent merchant and banker who lived around 1275, and Giacomo Fronte, a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the city's court system in the early 1300s.
In the 15th century, the Fronte family expanded their influence to other parts of Italy. Records show a branch of the family settling in the city of Genoa, where they played a role in the maritime trade and commerce of the region. One notable figure from this time was Andrea Fronte, a successful ship captain and navigator who embarked on several voyages to the Mediterranean and beyond between 1450 and 1480.
The Fronte surname also has ties to the prestigious University of Bologna, one of the oldest universities in the Western world. In the late 16th century, a professor named Giovanni Battista Fronte (1543-1612) taught philosophy and logic at the university, and his works on Aristotelian logic were widely studied and influential during his time.
Moving into the 17th century, the Fronte family continued to make their mark in various fields. Francesco Fronte (1612-1688) was a renowned architect who designed several churches and palaces in Rome, while Tommaso Fronte (1635-1702) was a celebrated painter and fresco artist whose works adorned many churches and noble residences throughout Italy.
As the centuries progressed, the Fronte surname spread to other parts of Europe and even the Americas, carried by Italian emigrants seeking new opportunities. While the name may have evolved in spelling or pronunciation in different regions, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in Tuscany, where it first emerged as a distinctive Italian surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fronte
Among Census respondents with the surname Fronte, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Fronte 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 Fronte surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino11.2% · 13
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fronte
Fronte 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,949 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+12 bearers (+11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,016 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 8,949 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.5%) | Up 11,016 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 Fronte 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 | #156,044 | #145,028 | 7.1% |
| Count | 104 | 116 | 11.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fronte bearers went from 104 to 116 (+11.5% change). The surname moved up 11,016 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #145,028.
FAQ
Fronte surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fronte?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Fronte. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Fronte?
Fronte ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Fronte. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Fronte.
Has Fronte become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fronte went from 104 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 12 (+11.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Fronte?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fronte, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Fronte in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fronte appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (11.2%), Black (0.9%). 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 Fronte (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 Fronte mean?
A surname originating from the Italian word "fronte," meaning forehead or brow. 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 Fronte (0.04 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 Fronte?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.