2000
#8,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,818
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Patti
An Italian surname derived from the given name "Patti," a diminutive form of "Patrizia," meaning "noble woman."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,907 Americans carry the last name Patti. That puts it at #9,194 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patti 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 Patti with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,728
Census rank
#9,194
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,407 bearers of the surname Patti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9194th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patti
The surname Patti originated in Italy and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "patto," meaning "pact" or "agreement," or from the name of the Italian town of Patti in the province of Messina, Sicily.
The earliest recorded instances of the Patti surname can be found in historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in various regions of Italy, including Sicily, Calabria, and Campania. One notable early bearer of this name was Giovanni Patti, a prominent jurist and diplomat from Palermo, Sicily, who lived in the late 13th century.
In the 15th century, the Patti surname appeared in several notarial records and cadastral surveys in towns and villages across Sicily, indicating its widespread use among families of various social classes.
During the Renaissance period, the name Patti gained further recognition with the rise of influential figures such as Andrea Patti, a renowned Sicilian sculptor and architect who lived between 1540 and 1608. His works can be found in churches and palaces across Italy, including the Cathedral of Palermo.
Another notable bearer of the Patti surname was Vincenzo Patti, a prominent Italian lawyer and politician who lived from 1720 to 1790. He served as a magistrate and played a crucial role in legal reforms during the Enlightenment era in Sicily.
In the 19th century, the Patti name gained international recognition with the celebrated opera singer Adelina Patti, born in 1843 in Madrid, Spain, to Italian parents from Sicily. She was widely regarded as one of the greatest sopranos of the Romantic era and performed in major opera houses around the world.
Other notable individuals with the Patti surname include Carmelo Patti, an Italian painter and sculptor who lived from 1858 to 1928, and Salvatore Patti, a Sicilian-born American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1860 to 1950 and contributed significantly to the development of New York City's Little Italy neighborhood.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patti
Among Census respondents with the surname Patti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Patti 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 Patti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 3,034
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 171
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 116
- Two or more races2.0% · 69
- Black or African American0.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patti
Patti 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
#8,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,899
+81 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.32
Rank movement Down 458 places
2020
#9,194
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,407
-492 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Down 725 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,011 | 3,818 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,469 | 3,899 | 1.32 | +81 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 458 places |
| 2020 | #9,194 | 3,407 | 1.14 | -492 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 725 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 Patti 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 | #8,469 | #9,194 | -8.6% |
| Count | 3,899 | 3,407 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.32 | 1.14 | -13.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patti bearers went from 3,899 to 3,407 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 725 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,469 to #9,194.
FAQ
Patti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patti?
Name Census estimates that about 3,907 living Americans carry the surname Patti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,728 residents.
How common is Patti?
Patti ranks #9,194 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.14 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 3,407 people with the surname Patti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,907), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.14 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 Patti.
Has Patti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patti went from 3,899 recorded bearers to 3,407. That is a decrease of 492 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,469 to #9,194.
What does the Census say about the background of Patti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Patti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (3,034 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patti appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Patti (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 Patti mean?
An Italian surname derived from the given name "Patti," a diminutive form of "Patrizia," meaning "noble woman." 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 Patti (1.14 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 share the surname Patti?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.