Orfanos last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Orfanos is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Orfanos.

Meaning of Orfanos

A Greek surname meaning "orphan" or "orphaned person".

Orfanos, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Orfanos surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orfanos in America

Orfanos is the 59171st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orfanos surname appeared 342 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Orfanos.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orfanos to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 59171 61544 -3.93%
Count 342 305 11.44%
Proportion per 100k 0.12 0.11 8.70%

The history of the last name Orfanos

The surname Orfanos has its origins in Greece, where it first emerged in the 14th century. It is derived from the Greek word "orphanos," which means "orphan" or "fatherless." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who was an orphan or whose father had passed away.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Orfanos can be found in a manuscript from the island of Crete, dated to around 1380. This document mentions a man named Ioannis Orfanos, who was a landowner in the village of Argyroupoli.

During the Byzantine era, the name Orfanos appeared sporadically in various records and documents from regions across the Greek mainland and islands. It is likely that the name was initially more common in areas with a strong Greek cultural influence, such as Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and parts of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Orfanos was Georgios Orfanos, a Greek Orthodox priest and scholar who lived from 1512 to 1588. He was known for his contributions to the translation and interpretation of religious texts, as well as his efforts to preserve Greek cultural heritage during the Ottoman rule.

Another historical figure with the surname Orfanos was Nikolaos Orfanos, a Greek revolutionary who fought against the Ottoman Empire during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829). He was born in the village of Dimitsana in the Peloponnese region in 1790 and played a significant role in the liberation of various towns and villages.

In the late 19th century, a prominent individual named Ioannis Orfanos (1856-1923) was a Greek politician and journalist who served as a member of the Greek parliament and was actively involved in the promotion of democratic ideals and freedom of the press.

Throughout history, variations of the spelling of the name Orfanos can be found, such as Orfano, Orphanos, and Orphanoudis, reflecting regional differences and linguistic adaptations.

It is worth noting that while the surname Orfanos is primarily associated with Greece, it has also spread to other regions due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the earliest recorded instances and the majority of historical references to this surname can be traced back to its Greek origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orfanos

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Orfanos.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Orfanos was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.06% 308
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 9.94% 34

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Orfanos has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.06% 93.44% -3.68%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% 1.97% -200.00%
Hispanic 9.94% 4.59% 73.64%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Orfanos was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Orfanos, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Orfanos last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/orfanos-surname-popularity/.

"Orfanos last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/orfanos-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Orfanos last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/orfanos-surname-popularity/.

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