2000
#33,605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 640
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.24
Very Rare Last name
Giarratano
An Italian surname likely referring to someone from a town named Giarrattan in Sicily.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 831 Americans carry the last name Giarratano. That puts it at #33,783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 412,460 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Giarratano 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
831
1 in 412,460
Census rank
#33,783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
725
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 725 bearers of the surname Giarratano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Giarratano, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Giarratano
The surname Giarratano is of Italian origin, specifically from the southern region of Sicily. It is believed to have derived from the town of Giarratana, located in the province of Ragusa, Sicily. The town's name is thought to come from the Arabic words "jarr" meaning "valley" and "tana" meaning "low," referring to its location in a low-lying valley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Giarratano dates back to the 16th century in Sicily. In 1592, a document mentions a certain Vincenzo Giarratano from the town of Giarratana. This suggests that the surname was already well-established in the area by that time.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and legal documents in the region of Ragusa, indicating that the Giarratano family had a notable presence in that area. One such record from 1673 mentions a Giuseppe Giarratano, who was involved in a land dispute.
As the centuries passed, the Giarratano surname spread beyond Sicily to other parts of Italy and eventually to other countries through emigration. One notable bearer of the name was Antonio Giarratano (1880-1968), an Italian-American sculptor who was born in Ragusa, Sicily, and later immigrated to the United States, where he gained recognition for his works.
Another individual with the surname Giarratano was Girolamo Giarratano (1890-1972), an Italian businessman and philanthropist from Ragusa. He founded a successful construction company and was known for his charitable contributions to the local community.
In the 20th century, Joseph M. Giarratano (born 1957) gained notoriety as a death row inmate in Virginia, United States. He was convicted of capital murder in 1979 and spent over 40 years on death row before being granted conditional pardon in 2021, making his case one of the longest-running capital punishment cases in the country.
While the Giarratano surname is not as widespread as some other Italian surnames, it has a rich history rooted in the town of Giarratana and the surrounding areas of Sicily. The name has been carried across generations and continents, reflecting the migration patterns and contributions of those who bear it.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Giarratano
Among Census respondents with the surname Giarratano, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Giarratano 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 Giarratano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 661
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 30
- Two or more races2.1% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 12
- Black or African American0.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Giarratano
Giarratano 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
#32,792
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 700
+60 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Up 813 places
2020
#33,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 725
+25 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 991 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #33,605 | 640 | 0.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,792 | 700 | 0.24 | +60 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 813 places |
| 2020 | #33,783 | 725 | 0.24 | +25 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 991 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 Giarratano 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 | #32,792 | #33,783 | -3.0% |
| Count | 700 | 725 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.24 | 1.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Giarratano bearers went from 700 to 725 (+3.6% change). The surname moved down 991 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,792 to #33,783.
FAQ
Giarratano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Giarratano?
Name Census estimates that about 831 living Americans carry the surname Giarratano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 412,460 residents.
How common is Giarratano?
Giarratano ranks #33,783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.24 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 725 people with the surname Giarratano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (831), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.24 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 Giarratano.
Has Giarratano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Giarratano went from 700 recorded bearers to 725. That is an increase of 25 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #32,792 to #33,783.
What does the Census say about the background of Giarratano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Giarratano, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Giarratano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (661 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Giarratano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Giarratano (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 Giarratano mean?
An Italian surname likely referring to someone from a town named Giarrattan in Sicily. 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 Giarratano (0.24 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 Americans have the surname Giarratano?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.