2000
#12,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,241
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Leonardi
A surname derived from the Italian personal name Leonardo.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,848 Americans carry the last name Leonardi. That puts it at #12,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,349 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leonardi 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Leonardi with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 120,349
Census rank
#12,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,484 bearers of the surname Leonardi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leonardi, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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the earliest recorded instances of the name Leonardi can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical documents from the Lombard period in Italy (568-774 AD).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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leonardi
Among Census respondents with the surname Leonardi, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Leonardi 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 Leonardi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 2,126
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 192
- Two or more races3.7% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 40
- Black or African American1.1% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leonardi
Leonardi 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
#15,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,834
-407 bearers (-18.2%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 3,207 places
2020
#12,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,484
+650 bearers (+35.4%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Up 3,859 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,657 | 2,241 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,864 | 1,834 | 0.62 | -407 bearers (-18.2%) | Down 3,207 places |
| 2020 | #12,005 | 2,484 | 0.83 | +650 bearers (+35.4%) | Up 3,859 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 Leonardi 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 | #15,864 | #12,005 | 24.3% |
| Count | 1,834 | 2,484 | 35.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.83 | 34.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leonardi bearers went from 1,834 to 2,484 (+35.4% change). The surname moved up 3,859 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,864 to #12,005.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Leonardi
FAQ
Leonardi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leonardi?
Name Census estimates that about 2,848 living Americans carry the surname Leonardi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,349 residents.
How common is Leonardi?
Leonardi ranks #12,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,484 people with the surname Leonardi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,848), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Leonardi.
Has Leonardi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leonardi went from 1,834 recorded bearers to 2,484. That is an increase of 650 (+35.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,864 to #12,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Leonardi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leonardi, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Leonardi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (2,126 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leonardi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Hispanic (7.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Leonardi (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 Leonardi mean?
A surname derived from the Italian personal name Leonardo. 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 Leonardi (0.83 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 surname Leonardi?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.