2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Molfetto
An Italian surname indicating someone from the town of Molfetta.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Molfetto. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Molfetto 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Molfetto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Molfetto, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Molfetto
The surname Molfetto has its origins in Italy, specifically in the region of Puglia, where it can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Italian town of Molfetta, located on the Adriatic coast, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname hailed from this picturesque seaside town.
Molfetta itself is a name of ancient Greek origin, with the root "molp" meaning "song" or "melody." This alludes to the town's proximity to the sea and its ties to maritime culture, where the rhythmic sounds of waves and the songs of sailors may have influenced the naming.
Historical records from the 12th and 13th centuries mention individuals with the surname Molfetto or variations like Molfetta or Molfetti, indicating their presence in the area during this period. One notable figure is Giovanni Molfetto, a merchant and landowner who lived in the late 13th century and was documented in the archives of the city of Bari.
In the 15th century, the name appears in Venetian records, suggesting that members of the Molfetto family had migrated to the famous maritime republic. One such individual was Antonio Molfetto, a ship captain who was involved in trade between Venice and the Levant in the mid-1400s.
The name also found its way to other parts of Italy, as evidenced by the presence of notable individuals like Girolamo Molfetto, a lawyer and scholar from Bologna who lived in the early 16th century and published several legal treatises.
In the 17th century, the name Molfetto gained prominence in the southern Italian city of Naples, where a family of that name produced several notable figures. One was Gian Battista Molfetto (1601-1678), a renowned architect who designed several churches and palaces in the city and its surrounding areas.
Another notable bearer of the Molfetto surname was Antonio Molfetto (1720-1788), a Neapolitan painter who specialized in landscapes and seascapes, reflecting the maritime heritage associated with the name's origins.
While the surname Molfetto is relatively uncommon outside of Italy, it has been carried by individuals of Italian descent to various parts of the world, particularly in the wake of the great Italian emigrations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Molfetto
Among Census respondents with the surname Molfetto, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Molfetto 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 Molfetto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino12.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Molfetto
Molfetto appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-12 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,535 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -12 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 9,535 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 Molfetto 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 | #145,220 | #154,755 | -6.6% |
| Count | 114 | 102 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Molfetto bearers went from 114 to 102 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 9,535 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #154,755.
FAQ
Molfetto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Molfetto?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Molfetto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Molfetto?
Molfetto ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Molfetto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Molfetto.
Has Molfetto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Molfetto went from 114 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Molfetto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Molfetto, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Molfetto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Molfetto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Hispanic (12.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Molfetto (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 Molfetto mean?
An Italian surname indicating someone from the town of Molfetta. 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 Molfetto (0.03 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 Molfetto?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.