2000
#10,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,861
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Pisani
An Italian surname referring to someone from Pisa or a descendant of someone from that city.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,008 Americans carry the last name Pisani. That puts it at #11,484 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,948 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pisani 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 Pisani with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,948
Census rank
#11,484
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,623 bearers of the surname Pisani in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11484th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pisani, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pisani
The surname Pisani is of Italian origin, with roots tracing back to the 14th century in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The name is derived from the Italian word "pisano," meaning "of Pisa," suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name hailed from the city of Pisa or its surrounding areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pisani name can be found in the Venetian Republic's historical archives, where members of the noble Pisani family held prominent positions in the government and military during the 14th and 15th centuries. Notably, Vittore Pisani (1324-1380) was a renowned Venetian admiral who played a crucial role in the Republic's naval victories against the Genoese during the Venetian-Genoese Wars.
The Pisani name also appears in various medieval manuscripts and records from the Italian Renaissance period. For instance, Niccolò Pisani (1459-1537) was a skilled painter and architect from Udine, whose works adorned several churches and palaces in the region.
In the 16th century, the Pisani family established themselves as influential landowners and patrons of the arts in the Veneto region. Giovanni Pisani (1548-1626), a wealthy nobleman and art collector, commissioned some of the most notable works by Venetian masters, including Tintoretto and Veronese.
As the Pisani name spread throughout Italy and beyond, it acquired various spellings and variations, such as Pisano, Pisanis, and Pisan. One notable bearer of the name was the French explorer and writer, Paul-Émile Pisani (1812-1891), who documented his travels in the Middle East and North Africa.
Other notable individuals with the Pisani surname include the Italian composer and conductor, Gabriele Pisani (1890-1968), known for his operas and orchestral works, and the American politician, Frank Pisani (1924-2015), who served as the mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut, from 1985 to 1991.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pisani
Among Census respondents with the surname Pisani, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pisani 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 Pisani surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 2,421
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 132
- Two or more races1.7% · 44
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pisani
Pisani 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
#11,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,806
-55 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 952 places
2020
#11,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,623
-183 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 215 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,317 | 2,861 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,269 | 2,806 | 0.95 | -55 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 952 places |
| 2020 | #11,484 | 2,623 | 0.88 | -183 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 215 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 Pisani 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 | #11,269 | #11,484 | -1.9% |
| Count | 2,806 | 2,623 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.88 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pisani bearers went from 2,806 to 2,623 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 215 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,269 to #11,484.
FAQ
Pisani surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pisani?
Name Census estimates that about 3,008 living Americans carry the surname Pisani. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,948 residents.
How common is Pisani?
Pisani ranks #11,484 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,623 people with the surname Pisani. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,008), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Pisani.
Has Pisani become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pisani went from 2,806 recorded bearers to 2,623. That is a decrease of 183 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,269 to #11,484.
What does the Census say about the background of Pisani?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pisani, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Pisani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (2,421 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pisani appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Pisani (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 Pisani mean?
An Italian surname referring to someone from Pisa or a descendant of someone from that city. 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 Pisani (0.88 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 Pisani?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.