2000
#13,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,068
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Garibaldi
Derived from the Germanic elements "gari" meaning "spear" and "bald" meaning "bold" or "brave," referring to a courageous warrior.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,737 Americans carry the last name Garibaldi. That puts it at #12,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,230 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garibaldi 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
2.7K
1 in 125,230
Census rank
#12,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,387 bearers of the surname Garibaldi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garibaldi, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (40.1%) and Black (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garibaldi
The surname Garibaldi originated in Italy and is believed to have emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old Italian words "garibaldu" or "gheribaldu," which are believed to come from the Germanic name "Gariwald" or "Geriwald." These names were composed of the elements "gari" or "geri," meaning "spear," and "waldu" or "walda," meaning "ruler" or "power."
The name Garibaldi is closely associated with the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was born in 1807 and died in 1882. He played a crucial role in the unification of Italy and is considered one of the greatest military and political figures in Italian history. His fame and popularity likely contributed to the widespread recognition and use of the surname Garibaldi.
Historical records suggest that the Garibaldi family originated in the region of Liguria, located in northwestern Italy. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in a document from the 13th century, which mentions a nobleman named Garibaldo de Savignone, who lived in the town of Savignone, near Genoa.
Another notable figure with the surname Garibaldi was Giovanni Battista Garibaldi, who was born in 1808 and died in 1892. He was an Italian painter and belonged to the Macchiaioli movement, which was known for its innovative approach to landscape painting.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Garibaldi family migrated to Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. One of the most prominent members of this branch was Gian Gerolamo Garibaldi, who was born in Sardinia in 1587 and became a renowned jurist and legal scholar.
The surname Garibaldi has also been associated with various place names throughout Italy. For example, there is a town called Garibaldi in the province of Genoa, as well as a village called Garibaldi in the province of Reggio Calabria, which was named in honor of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
While the surname Garibaldi is most commonly found in Italy, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to Italian emigration. Some notable figures with the surname Garibaldi from outside of Italy include Giovanni Garibaldi, an Italian-American artist and sculptor who lived from 1846 to 1900, and Ricardo Garibaldi, a Mexican actor and filmmaker who was born in 1923 and died in 1999.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garibaldi
Among Census respondents with the surname Garibaldi, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (40.1%) and Black (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Garibaldi 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 Garibaldi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino52.0% · 1,241
- White40.1% · 956
- Black or African American4.1% · 97
- Two or more races2.6% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garibaldi
Garibaldi 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
#12,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,414
+346 bearers (+16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 706 places
2020
#12,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,387
-27 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 366 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,488 | 2,068 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,782 | 2,414 | 0.82 | +346 bearers (+16.7%) | Up 706 places |
| 2020 | #12,416 | 2,387 | 0.80 | -27 bearers (-1.1%) | Up 366 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 Garibaldi 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 | #12,782 | #12,416 | 2.9% |
| Count | 2,414 | 2,387 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.80 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garibaldi bearers went from 2,414 to 2,387 (-1.1% change). The surname moved up 366 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,782 to #12,416.
FAQ
Garibaldi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garibaldi?
Name Census estimates that about 2,737 living Americans carry the surname Garibaldi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,230 residents.
How common is Garibaldi?
Garibaldi ranks #12,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,387 people with the surname Garibaldi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,737), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Garibaldi.
Has Garibaldi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garibaldi went from 2,414 recorded bearers to 2,387. That is a decrease of 27 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,782 to #12,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Garibaldi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garibaldi, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 52.0%. The next largest groups are White (40.1%) and Black (4.1%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Garibaldi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (1,241 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garibaldi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (52.0%), White (40.1%), Black (4.1%). 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 Garibaldi (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 Garibaldi mean?
Derived from the Germanic elements "gari" meaning "spear" and "bald" meaning "bold" or "brave," referring to a courageous warrior. 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 Garibaldi (0.80 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 Garibaldi?
See how many people have the last name Garibaldi on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.