2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Montaperto
A locational surname derived from an Italian place name meaning "open mountain" or "exposed hill".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Montaperto. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Montaperto 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Montaperto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Montaperto, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Montaperto
The surname Montaperto is of Italian origin, originating in the region of Calabria in southern Italy. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages, sometime between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Montaperto is derived from the Italian words "monte" meaning mountain, and "aperto" meaning open or exposed. This suggests the name may have referred to a person living in an open or exposed area near a mountain. Alternatively, it could have described a location with a prominent mountain or hill.
The earliest known record of the Montaperto name dates back to the 13th century. An individual named Giovanni Montaperto was mentioned in a legal document from the town of Cosenza in 1273. This suggests the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, a Andrea Montaperto was a renowned scholar and philosopher who taught at the University of Naples. He was born in 1320 and died in 1385. His writings on logic and metaphysics were widely studied and influential during the Renaissance period.
Another notable figure was Pietro Montaperto, a 16th-century painter from the city of Reggio Calabria. He was known for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches in southern Italy. Pietro Montaperto was born in 1525 and died in 1595.
In the 18th century, a Francesco Montaperto was a prominent landowner and farmer in the Calabrian town of Corigliano Calabro. Records from 1753 show he owned a vast estate and was one of the wealthiest individuals in the region at the time.
The name Montaperto has also been associated with various place names in Calabria, such as the village of Montaperto near Cosenza, and the Montaperto mountain range in the province of Reggio Calabria. These geographical features likely predate the use of the surname and may have influenced its origin.
While not as common today, the Montaperto surname continues to be found primarily in southern Italy, particularly in Calabria and Sicily. It serves as a reminder of the rich history and geographic influences that have shaped Italian surnames over centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Montaperto
Among Census respondents with the surname Montaperto, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Montaperto 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 Montaperto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Montaperto
Montaperto 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+4 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,083 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,860 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 5,083 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 4,860 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 Montaperto 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 | #136,449 | #141,309 | -3.6% |
| Count | 123 | 121 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Montaperto bearers went from 123 to 121 (-1.6% change). The surname moved down 4,860 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #141,309.
FAQ
Montaperto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Montaperto?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Montaperto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Montaperto?
Montaperto ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Montaperto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Montaperto.
Has Montaperto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Montaperto went from 123 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Montaperto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Montaperto, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Montaperto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Montaperto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (13.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Montaperto (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 Montaperto mean?
A locational surname derived from an Italian place name meaning "open mountain" or "exposed hill". 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 Montaperto (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 common is the surname Montaperto?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Montaperto at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.