2000
#12,292
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,320
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Morrone
A surname of Italian origin referring to someone who lived near a round hillock or derived from a nickname for someone swarthy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,484 Americans carry the last name Morrone. That puts it at #13,445 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,985 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morrone 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
2.5K
1 in 137,985
Census rank
#13,445
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,166 bearers of the surname Morrone in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13445th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morrone, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morrone
The surname Morrone originated in Italy and dates back several centuries. It is derived from the Italian word "morro," which means a rocky, pointed hill or a small mountain. Morrone is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or on a rocky hill or small mountain.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Morrone can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in various regions of southern Italy, including Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria. Records from this period often show variations in spelling, such as Morrone, Morone, and Moroni.
One notable historical figure with the surname Morrone was Pietro del Morrone, also known as Pope Celestine V. Born in 1215 in the town of Isernia, in the Molise region of Italy, he was elected Pope in 1294 but resigned just five months later, becoming the first Pope to voluntarily abdicate. He died in 1296.
Another significant individual with the Morrone surname was Giambattista Morrone, a 16th-century Italian painter and architect from the town of Campobasso in the Molise region. He was active in Naples and is known for his work on the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà and the Palazzo Reale.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure named Francesco Morrone was a monk and philosopher from the town of Isernia. He wrote several philosophical treatises and was a respected scholar in his time.
During the 18th century, the Morrone family was established in the town of Potenza, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. One notable member was Vincenzo Morrone, a lawyer and politician who served as the mayor of Potenza in the late 1700s.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe Morrone was a renowned Italian botanist and professor at the University of Naples. He made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and published several works on the flora of southern Italy.
While the surname Morrone has its roots in southern Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the country and around the world due to migration and immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morrone
Among Census respondents with the surname Morrone, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Morrone 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 Morrone surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 1,972
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 122
- Two or more races1.8% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 17
- Black or African American0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morrone
Morrone 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
#12,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,409
+89 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 510 places
2020
#13,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,166
-243 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 643 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,292 | 2,320 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,802 | 2,409 | 0.82 | +89 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 510 places |
| 2020 | #13,445 | 2,166 | 0.72 | -243 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 643 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 Morrone 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 | #12,802 | #13,445 | -5.0% |
| Count | 2,409 | 2,166 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.72 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morrone bearers went from 2,409 to 2,166 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 643 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,802 to #13,445.
FAQ
Morrone surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morrone?
Name Census estimates that about 2,484 living Americans carry the surname Morrone. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,985 residents.
How common is Morrone?
Morrone ranks #13,445 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,166 people with the surname Morrone. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,484), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Morrone.
Has Morrone become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morrone went from 2,409 recorded bearers to 2,166. That is a decrease of 243 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,802 to #13,445.
What does the Census say about the background of Morrone?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morrone, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) 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 Morrone in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (1,972 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morrone appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (5.6%), 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 Morrone (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 Morrone mean?
A surname of Italian origin referring to someone who lived near a round hillock or derived from a nickname for someone swarthy. 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 Morrone (0.72 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 Morrone?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.