2000
#7,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,856
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.43
Rare Last name
Moretti
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made rounded helmets or was a dark-haired person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,958 Americans carry the last name Moretti. That puts it at #9,092 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,598 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Moretti 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 Moretti with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,598
Census rank
#9,092
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,452 bearers of the surname Moretti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9092nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Moretti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Moretti
The surname Moretti originated in Italy and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Italian word "moro," which means dark or swarthy, referring to someone with a dark complexion or hair. The name is likely of occupational origin, indicating a person who worked as a moor or Muslim servant.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Italian records and manuscripts from regions like Tuscany, Lombardy, and Emilia-Romagna. The name appeared in various spellings, such as Moreto, Moretta, and Moretto, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
One notable historical reference to the name Moretti can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Longobardo," a collection of Lombard diplomatic documents from the 8th to the 12th centuries. This source mentions individuals with the surname Moretti or variations thereof, suggesting the name's prevalence in northern Italy during the Middle Ages.
Among the notable individuals who bore the surname Moretti throughout history are:
1. Pietro Moretti (1532-1592), an Italian Renaissance architect and sculptor from Bergamo, known for his work on the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome.
2. Gaspare Moretti (1619-1679), an Italian painter and engraver from Perugia, renowned for his paintings of religious subjects and landscapes.
3. Ferdinando Moretti (1784-1837), an Italian composer and music theorist from Bologna, who composed operas and wrote influential treatises on music theory.
4. Giacomo Moretti (1822-1888), an Italian archaeologist and historian from Riva del Garda, known for his excavations and studies of ancient Roman sites in Italy.
5. Costantino Moretti (1899-1985), an Italian architect and urban planner from Rome, who designed several notable public buildings and urban development projects in the city during the mid-20th century.
The surname Moretti has also been associated with various place names throughout Italy, such as Moretta in Piedmont, Moretto in Lombardy, and Moretti in Tuscany, reflecting the geographical spread and local variations of the name over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moretti
Among Census respondents with the surname Moretti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Moretti 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 Moretti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 3,077
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 260
- Two or more races2.3% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 22
- Black or African American0.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Moretti
Moretti 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
#8,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,858
+2 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 570 places
2020
#9,092
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,452
-406 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 563 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,959 | 3,856 | 1.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,529 | 3,858 | 1.31 | +2 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 570 places |
| 2020 | #9,092 | 3,452 | 1.15 | -406 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 563 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 Moretti 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 | #8,529 | #9,092 | -6.6% |
| Count | 3,858 | 3,452 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.15 | -11.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Moretti bearers went from 3,858 to 3,452 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 563 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,529 to #9,092.
FAQ
Moretti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Moretti?
Name Census estimates that about 3,958 living Americans carry the surname Moretti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,598 residents.
How common is Moretti?
Moretti ranks #9,092 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 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 3,452 people with the surname Moretti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,958), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 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 Moretti.
Has Moretti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Moretti went from 3,858 recorded bearers to 3,452. That is a decrease of 406 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,529 to #9,092.
What does the Census say about the background of Moretti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Moretti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) 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 Moretti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (3,077 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Moretti appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (7.5%), 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 Moretti (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 Moretti mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made rounded helmets or was a dark-haired 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 Moretti (1.15 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 Moretti?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.