2000
#4,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,054
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.99
Rare Last name
Monaco
A locational surname referring to someone from the principality of Monaco or the city of Munich, Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,914 Americans carry the last name Monaco. That puts it at #4,427 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,451 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Monaco 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 Monaco with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.9K
1 in 38,451
Census rank
#4,427
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,773 bearers of the surname Monaco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4427th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Monaco, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Monaco
The surname Monaco has its origins in Italy, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the place name Monaco, which is a city-state located on the French Riviera. The name is believed to have come from the Greek word "monachos," meaning "single" or "alone," referring to the city-state's isolated location on a rocky promontory.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Monaco can be found in the Codice Diplomatico della Repubblica di Genova, a collection of diplomatic documents from the Republic of Genoa, which mentions a certain Guglielmo Monaco in 1198. Another early reference is in the Registri della Catena, a series of notarial records from Savona, Italy, which lists a Nicolo Monaco in 1242.
The name Monaco has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Benedetto Monaco (c. 1390-1470), an Italian painter and architect from Treviso, known for his work on the Basilica of San Marco in Venice. Another prominent bearer of the name was Antonio Monaco (1767-1833), an Italian poet and playwright from Naples.
In the 19th century, Luigi Monaco (1832-1909) was an Italian sculptor and painter from Genoa, known for his works in marble and bronze. Carlo Monaco (1869-1924) was an Italian anarchist and labor activist, influential in the early 20th century.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Monaco was Grace Kelly (1929-1982), the American actress who married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, in 1956, becoming Princess Grace of Monaco. Her son, Albert II (born 1958), is the current reigning Prince of Monaco.
While the surname Monaco originated in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Italian diaspora populations. However, its roots can be traced back to the small principality of Monaco on the Mediterranean coast, a place that has left an indelible mark on the history and cultural significance of this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monaco
Among Census respondents with the surname Monaco, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Monaco 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 Monaco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 7,075
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 419
- Two or more races2.3% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 62
- Black or African American0.3% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Monaco
Monaco 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
#4,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,198
+144 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 2.78
Rank movement Down 275 places
2020
#4,427
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,773
-425 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.60
Rank movement Down 96 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,056 | 8,054 | 2.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,331 | 8,198 | 2.78 | +144 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 275 places |
| 2020 | #4,427 | 7,773 | 2.60 | -425 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 96 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 Monaco 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 | #4,331 | #4,427 | -2.2% |
| Count | 8,198 | 7,773 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.78 | 2.60 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Monaco bearers went from 8,198 to 7,773 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 96 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,331 to #4,427.
FAQ
Monaco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Monaco?
Name Census estimates that about 8,914 living Americans carry the surname Monaco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,451 residents.
How common is Monaco?
Monaco ranks #4,427 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,773 people with the surname Monaco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,914), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Monaco.
Has Monaco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Monaco went from 8,198 recorded bearers to 7,773. That is a decrease of 425 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,331 to #4,427.
What does the Census say about the background of Monaco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Monaco, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Monaco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (7,075 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Monaco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (5.4%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Monaco (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 Monaco mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the principality of Monaco or the city of Munich, Germany. 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 Monaco (2.60 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 last name Monaco?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Monaco is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.