2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Giarraffa
A surname originating from Italian for a giraffe or giraffe-like person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Giarraffa. 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 Giarraffa 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 Giarraffa 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 Giarraffa, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Giarraffa
The surname GIARRAFFA is of Italian origin, originating from the island of Sicily in southern Italy. It can be traced back to the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
The name GIARRAFFA is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "zarafah," meaning "giraffe." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who had some connection with giraffes, perhaps as a trader or someone who worked with exotic animals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GIARRAFFA name can be found in a document from the city of Palermo, Sicily, dated 1387. This document mentions a merchant named Giovanni GIARRAFFA, indicating that the name was already in use at that time.
During the Renaissance period, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the GIARRAFFA family became more prominent in Sicily. Several members of the family were involved in various professions, including law, politics, and the clergy.
A notable figure with the GIARRAFFA surname was Filippo GIARRAFFA (1540-1612), a Sicilian nobleman and politician who served as a senator in the city of Messina. Another prominent individual was Matteo GIARRAFFA (1628-1703), a Sicilian priest and theologian who wrote several religious texts.
In the 18th century, the GIARRAFFA name appeared in records from the town of Noto, Sicily. One example is Giuseppe GIARRAFFA (1723-1786), a renowned architect who designed several baroque churches and palaces in Noto and other Sicilian cities.
As the GIARRAFFA family spread throughout Italy and beyond, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Giraffe, Giraffa, and Giraffi. However, the original GIARRAFFA spelling remained prevalent in Sicily.
Another notable figure was Francesco GIARRAFFA (1810-1882), an Italian lawyer and politician who served as a senator in the Kingdom of Italy after the country's unification in the 19th century.
While the GIARRAFFA surname is primarily associated with Sicily, it has also been found in other parts of Italy, as well as in countries with significant Italian diaspora communities, such as the United States and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Giarraffa
Among Census respondents with the surname Giarraffa, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Giarraffa 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 Giarraffa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino14.4% · 17
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Giarraffa
Giarraffa 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-21 bearers (-16.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,519 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+11 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-16.4%) | Down 28,519 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 9,117 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 Giarraffa 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 | #152,628 | #143,511 | 6.0% |
| Count | 107 | 118 | 10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Giarraffa bearers went from 107 to 118 (+10.3% change). The surname moved up 9,117 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #143,511.
FAQ
Giarraffa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Giarraffa?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Giarraffa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Giarraffa?
Giarraffa 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.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Giarraffa. 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.
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 Giarraffa.
Has Giarraffa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Giarraffa went from 107 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 11 (+10.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Giarraffa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Giarraffa, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Giarraffa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Giarraffa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.2%), Hispanic (14.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Giarraffa (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 Giarraffa mean?
A surname originating from Italian for a giraffe or giraffe-like person. 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 Giarraffa (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 have the last name Giarraffa?
See how many people have the surname Giarraffa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.