2000
#134,929
National surname rank
First available Census row
An Italian surname indicating an association with wheat or grain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Frumento. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frumento 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Frumento in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frumento, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
Origin
The surname Frumento is of Italian origin, derived from the Italian word "frumento" which means wheat or grain. The name likely originated in the medieval period, possibly as an occupational surname for someone involved in the cultivation or trade of wheat.
The earliest known record of the surname Frumento dates back to the 13th century in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The name can be found in historical records from cities such as Bologna and Modena, which were important agricultural centers during that time.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Frumento can be found in the "Estimo" (tax records) of the city of Bologna from the year 1296, where a certain "Petrus Frumento" is listed as a landowner.
In the 14th century, a notable individual named Giacomo Frumento (1300-1372) was a renowned physician and scholar from Bologna. He authored several treatises on medicine and is considered one of the foremost figures in the field during the Middle Ages.
Another noteworthy bearer of the surname was Girolamo Frumento (1455-1511), a Franciscan friar and theologian from Ferrara. He was known for his sermons and wrote extensively on religious subjects.
During the Renaissance period, the Frumento family had a presence in the city of Mantua, where they were involved in the silk trade. One member, Giovanni Battista Frumento (1510-1575), was a successful silk merchant and held several important positions in the local guild.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Frumento family settled in the Kingdom of Naples. Among them was Tommaso Frumento (1620-1687), a lawyer and magistrate who served in the royal court of Naples.
Over the centuries, the surname Frumento has been associated with various occupations, including agriculture, medicine, religion, and commerce, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of its bearers.
Demographics
Among Census respondents with the surname Frumento, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Frumento 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 Frumento surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
Timeline
Frumento 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.
2000
National surname rank
First available Census row
2010
National surname rank
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
2020
National surname rank
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 7,179 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 1,403 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
How has the Frumento surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #142,108 | #143,511 | -1.0% |
| Count | 117 | 118 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frumento bearers went from 117 to 118 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,403 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #143,511.
FAQ
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Frumento. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
Frumento ranks #143,511 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.
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Frumento. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
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 Frumento.
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frumento went from 117 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #143,511.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frumento, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Frumento in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (106 people in the source table).
Frumento appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (9.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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.
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 Frumento (2000, 2010, 2020).
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.
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.
An Italian surname indicating an association with wheat or grain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
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.
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 Frumento (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.
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.