Find out how popular the last name Leonardi is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Leonardi.

Leonardi, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Leonardi surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leonardi in America

Leonardi is the 15864th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leonardi surname appeared 1,834 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Leonardi.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leonardi to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Leonardi

The surname Leonardi originated in Italy during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "leone," meaning lion, and the Latin suffix "-ardi," which denotes a family or clan. The name likely referred to a family that had a lion on their coat of arms or were associated with a place name containing the word "leone."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leonardi can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical documents from the Lombard period in Italy (568-774 AD). In this collection, a certain "Petrus Leonardi" is mentioned as a witness to a legal transaction in the year 732.

During the 13th century, the name Leonardi appears in various Italian municipal records, such as the Estimo di Firenze (Florentine Tax Records) of 1269, where a "Bindo Leonardi" is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the name was well-established in cities like Florence by this time.

In the 14th century, a notable bearer of the name was Ser Piero Leonardi, a Florentine notary and chronicler who lived from 1315 to 1397. His writings provide valuable insights into the political and social climate of his time.

The name Leonardi has also been associated with several notable figures in the arts and sciences throughout history. For instance, Giovanni Leonardi (1541-1609) was an Italian Catholic priest and the founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God. He was canonized as a saint in 1726.

Another prominent Leonardi was Giuseppe Leonardi (1768-1842), an Italian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was a member of the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino (Academy of Sciences of Turin).

In the realm of literature, Alessandro Leonardi (1770-1834) was an Italian poet and playwright who wrote several tragedies and comedies in the Venetian dialect. His works shed light on the cultural and linguistic traditions of the Veneto region.

Finally, Felice Leonardi (1828-1903) was an Italian painter and engraver known for his landscapes and genre scenes. He was a member of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (Academy of Fine Arts of Venice) and is considered one of the most important exponents of the Venetian school of painting in the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leonardi

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Leonardi.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Leonardi was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Leonardi has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Leonardi was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Leonardi, please contact us.

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