2000
#16,293
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,628
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Garbarino
An Italian surname originating from a diminutive of "garbato" meaning "elegant" or "graceful".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,621 Americans carry the last name Garbarino. That puts it at #19,195 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 211,446 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garbarino 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
1.6K
1 in 211,446
Census rank
#19,195
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,414 bearers of the surname Garbarino in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19195th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garbarino, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garbarino
The surname Garbarino originates from Italy, where it first appeared during the medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "garbino," which refers to a strong westerly wind that blows across the Mediterranean Sea. This suggests that the name may have initially been given as a nickname or descriptive term for someone who lived in an area frequently affected by these powerful winds.
The name can be traced back to the regions of Liguria and Piedmont in northwestern Italy, where it was particularly prevalent in the towns and villages around Genoa and Savona. Some of the earliest known records of the Garbarino surname appear in documents from the 13th and 14th centuries, including tax rolls, property deeds, and municipal records.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the Garbarino surname was Guglielmo Garbarino, a merchant and ship owner from Genoa who lived in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Simone Garbarino, a respected lawyer and judge from Savona who served in the court of the Marquis of Monferrato in the mid-15th century.
Throughout the Renaissance and early modern periods, the Garbarino family played a prominent role in the maritime trade and commerce of the Italian city-states. Several members of the family were involved in the lucrative business of silk production and export, with branches of the Garbarino clan establishing themselves in other Italian cities such as Milan and Florence.
In the 17th century, Giambattista Garbarino was a renowned painter and fresco artist from Genoa, whose works adorned many churches and palaces throughout northern Italy. Another notable figure was Andrea Garbarino, a Jesuit priest and scholar who served as a professor of philosophy at the University of Genoa in the late 18th century.
As the Garbarino name spread throughout Italy and beyond, it also took on various regional spellings and variations, such as Garbarini, Garbarino, and Garbarini. The name eventually made its way to other parts of Europe and the Americas through emigration, with notable bearers including the Argentine writer and poet Antonio Garbarino (1899-1969) and the Italian-American mathematician and computer scientist Joseph Garbarino (1922-2008).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garbarino
Among Census respondents with the surname Garbarino, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Garbarino 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 Garbarino surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 1,302
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 68
- Two or more races1.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garbarino
Garbarino 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
#15,955
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,821
+193 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 338 places
2020
#19,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,414
-407 bearers (-22.4%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 3,240 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,293 | 1,628 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,955 | 1,821 | 0.62 | +193 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 338 places |
| 2020 | #19,195 | 1,414 | 0.47 | -407 bearers (-22.4%) | Down 3,240 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 Garbarino 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 | #15,955 | #19,195 | -20.3% |
| Count | 1,821 | 1,414 | -22.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.47 | -23.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garbarino bearers went from 1,821 to 1,414 (-22.4% change). The surname moved down 3,240 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,955 to #19,195.
FAQ
Garbarino surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garbarino?
Name Census estimates that about 1,621 living Americans carry the surname Garbarino. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 211,446 residents.
How common is Garbarino?
Garbarino ranks #19,195 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.47 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 1,414 people with the surname Garbarino. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,621), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.47 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 Garbarino.
Has Garbarino become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garbarino went from 1,821 recorded bearers to 1,414. That is a decrease of 407 (-22.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,955 to #19,195.
What does the Census say about the background of Garbarino?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garbarino, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Garbarino in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (1,302 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garbarino appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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.
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 Garbarino (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 Garbarino mean?
An Italian surname originating from a diminutive of "garbato" meaning "elegant" or "graceful". 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 Garbarino (0.47 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 are called Garbarino?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Garbarino is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.