2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Passeno
A surname potentially derived from a place name in Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Passeno. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Passeno 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Passeno in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Passeno, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Passeno
The surname Passeno is believed to have originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Tuscany, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Italian word "passo," which means "pass" or "passage," possibly indicating that the family's ancestors lived near a mountain pass or a significant travel route.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Passeno name can be found in the Florentine archives from the 13th century, where a certain Guido Passeno is mentioned as a prominent citizen of Florence. This suggests that the name had already established itself in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, there are records of a Passeno family residing in the town of Siena, Tuscany. A notable member of this family was Giovanni Passeno, a successful merchant who played a significant role in the city's trade guilds.
During the Renaissance period, the Passeno name gained further recognition with the birth of Tommaso Passeno (1494-1569), a renowned sculptor and architect who contributed to the design of several churches and palaces in Rome and Florence.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Passeno family settled in the nearby region of Umbria, where they acquired land and established themselves as landowners. One prominent figure from this era was Girolamo Passeno (1620-1692), a scholar and author who wrote extensively on topics ranging from philosophy to theology.
Another notable bearer of the Passeno surname was Vittoria Passeno (1789-1867), a renowned painter from Milan who gained recognition for her portraits and religious works. Her paintings can be found in several art galleries and museums across Italy.
As the Passeno family spread throughout Italy over the centuries, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Paseno, Passeni, and Passeni-Ferletti. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the Tuscan region, where it first appeared in historical records.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Passeno
Among Census respondents with the surname Passeno, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Passeno 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 Passeno surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 100
- Two or more races6.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Passeno
Passeno 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+10 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 711 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-9 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,827 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 711 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 8,827 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 Passeno 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 | #142,108 | #150,935 | -6.2% |
| Count | 117 | 108 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Passeno bearers went from 117 to 108 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 8,827 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #150,935.
FAQ
Passeno surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Passeno?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Passeno. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Passeno?
Passeno ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Passeno. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Passeno.
Has Passeno become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Passeno went from 117 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Passeno?
Among Census respondents with the surname Passeno, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Passeno in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Passeno appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (6.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Passeno (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 Passeno mean?
A surname potentially derived from a place name in Italy. 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 Passeno (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 many people have the last name Passeno?
You can see how many people have the surname Passeno on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.