2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Malinconico
A surname of Italian origin describing a melancholic or sad person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Malinconico. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malinconico 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Malinconico in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malinconico, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malinconico
The surname Malinconico is of Italian origin, deriving from the Italian word "malinconico" which means melancholic or sad. It likely originated in the regions of central and southern Italy, where the Italian language developed from Vulgar Latin.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in various Italian records and documents. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Niccolò Malinconico, a nobleman from Naples who lived in the late 13th century.
The surname Malinconico may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname, referring to an individual's perceived melancholic or gloomy disposition. Surnames derived from personal characteristics were common during the Middle Ages when hereditary surnames were first adopted.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname was Francesco Malinconico, a Italian Renaissance painter born in Naples around 1470. His works can be found in various churches and museums throughout Italy.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Girolamo Malinconico, a Italian jurist and legal scholar who lived in the late 16th century. He authored several influential works on Roman law and served as a professor at the University of Naples.
During the 17th century, the Malinconico family was a prominent noble family in the Kingdom of Naples. One member, Geronimo Malinconico, born in 1621, was a successful merchant and landowner.
In the 19th century, Antonio Malinconico, born in 1811 in Palermo, Sicily, was a renowned Italian botanist and naturalist. He made significant contributions to the study of the flora and fauna of Sicily.
Over time, various spelling variations of the surname emerged, including Malinconino, Malinconico, and Malenconico, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and orthography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malinconico
Among Census respondents with the surname Malinconico, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Malinconico 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 Malinconico surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malinconico
Malinconico 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+13 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,429 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,168 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 3,429 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 9,168 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 Malinconico 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 | #137,327 | #146,495 | -6.7% |
| Count | 122 | 114 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malinconico bearers went from 122 to 114 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 9,168 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #146,495.
FAQ
Malinconico surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malinconico?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Malinconico. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Malinconico?
Malinconico ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Malinconico. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Malinconico.
Has Malinconico become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malinconico went from 122 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Malinconico?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malinconico, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Malinconico in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malinconico appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Malinconico (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 Malinconico mean?
A surname of Italian origin describing a melancholic or sad 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 Malinconico (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 share the surname Malinconico?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.