2000
#16,360
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,621
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Pantaleon
A surname derived from the Greek name Pantaleōn, meaning "all-compassionate" or "entirely merciful."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,866 Americans carry the last name Pantaleon. That puts it at #11,957 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,593 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pantaleon 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
2.9K
1 in 119,593
Census rank
#11,957
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,499 bearers of the surname Pantaleon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11957th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pantaleon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.2%) and White (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pantaleon
The surname Pantaleon originated in Italy during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Greek name Pantaleon, which means "all-lion" or "totally lion-like." This name was initially given to individuals who displayed characteristics associated with the strength and courage of a lion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pantaleon can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Campania region of Southern Italy, dating back to the 11th century. The documents mention several individuals with the surname Pantaleon residing in the town of Amalfi.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Pantaleo Pantaleon was a renowned jurist and judge in the city of Bologna. He was instrumental in the development of Roman law and is cited in several legal manuscripts from that period.
During the Renaissance, the name Pantaleon gained popularity among Italian noble families. One such notable figure was Battista Pantaleon, a 16th-century Italian humanist and scholar born in Sarzana in 1494. He authored several works on ancient Roman history and literature.
In the 17th century, the Pantaleon family established themselves as a prominent force in the Venetian Republic. Giovanni Battista Pantaleon (1595-1670) was a successful merchant and diplomat who served as the Venetian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
Another notable figure was Francesco Pantaleon (1734-1804), an Italian composer and violinist who was a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was born in Venice and is known for his contributions to the development of the violin concerto genre.
Over time, the surname Pantaleon spread to other parts of Europe, including France and Spain. In France, the name was sometimes spelled as Pantaléon, while in Spain, it was adapted to Pantaleón.
One of the most famous bearers of the name in recent history was the Spanish poet and dramatist Pantaleón Palacio (1879-1952), who was a prominent figure in the Generation of '98 literary movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pantaleon
Among Census respondents with the surname Pantaleon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.2%) and White (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Pantaleon 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 Pantaleon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino77.4% · 1,935
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.2% · 379
- White3.6% · 91
- Black or African American2.5% · 63
- Two or more races1.2% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pantaleon
Pantaleon 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
#12,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,467
+846 bearers (+52.2%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 3,806 places
2020
#11,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,499
+32 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 597 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,360 | 1,621 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,554 | 2,467 | 0.84 | +846 bearers (+52.2%) | Up 3,806 places |
| 2020 | #11,957 | 2,499 | 0.84 | +32 bearers (+1.3%) | Up 597 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 Pantaleon 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 | #12,554 | #11,957 | 4.8% |
| Count | 2,467 | 2,499 | 1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.84 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pantaleon bearers went from 2,467 to 2,499 (+1.3% change). The surname moved up 597 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,554 to #11,957.
FAQ
Pantaleon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pantaleon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,866 living Americans carry the surname Pantaleon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,593 residents.
How common is Pantaleon?
Pantaleon ranks #11,957 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,499 people with the surname Pantaleon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,866), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Pantaleon.
Has Pantaleon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pantaleon went from 2,467 recorded bearers to 2,499. That is an increase of 32 (+1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,554 to #11,957.
What does the Census say about the background of Pantaleon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pantaleon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 77.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.2%) and White (3.6%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pantaleon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.4% (1,935 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pantaleon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (77.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (15.2%), White (3.6%). 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 Pantaleon (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 Pantaleon mean?
A surname derived from the Greek name Pantaleōn, meaning "all-compassionate" or "entirely merciful." 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 Pantaleon (0.84 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 Pantaleon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.