2000
#104,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 159
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Pollifrone
An Italian surname meaning "many fruits" or "abundance of fruits".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Pollifrone. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pollifrone 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Pollifrone in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollifrone, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pollifrone
The surname Pollifrone has its origins in the Apulia region of southern Italy, dating back to the medieval period around the 11th century. The name is derived from the Latin words "pollis" meaning "fine flour" and "frons" meaning "leaf," suggesting that the original bearer may have been a baker or miller.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Cava de' Tirreni monastery in Campania, Italy. The document, dated 1087, mentions a certain "Petrus Pollifrone" as a landowner in the area.
The name Pollifrone can also be found in the Catalogus Baronum, a register of feudal landholders in the Kingdom of Sicily compiled in 1168-1169. This suggests that the family had gained some prominence and status by the 12th century.
In the 13th century, a notable figure with the name was Guglielmo Pollifrone, a distinguished jurist from Salerno who served as a judge in the court of King Charles I of Naples. He was born around 1220 and died in 1295.
Another prominent individual was Giovanni Pollifrone, a renowned theologian and philosopher who lived in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He was born in Bari around 1370 and taught at the University of Padua, where he authored several influential works on scholastic philosophy.
The name Pollifrone can be traced back to the town of Polignano a Mare, a coastal town in Apulia, which was formerly known as "Pollifrone" in ancient times. This suggests that the surname may have originated from a placename, as was common practice during that era.
In the 16th century, a notable figure was Vincenzo Pollifrone, a celebrated painter from Naples who was active during the Renaissance period. He is known for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches in the region, including the Church of Santa Maria la Nova in Naples.
Throughout the centuries, the name Pollifrone has maintained a presence in various regions of Italy, particularly in the southern regions of Apulia, Campania, and Calabria, where it is still found today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pollifrone
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollifrone, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pollifrone 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 Pollifrone surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.7% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pollifrone
Pollifrone 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
-21 bearers (-13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 20,291 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-18 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,501 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #104,257 | 159 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | -21 bearers (-13.2%) | Down 20,291 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 17,501 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 Pollifrone 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 | #124,548 | #142,049 | -14.1% |
| Count | 138 | 120 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pollifrone bearers went from 138 to 120 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 17,501 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #142,049.
FAQ
Pollifrone surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pollifrone?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Pollifrone. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Pollifrone?
Pollifrone ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Pollifrone. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Pollifrone.
Has Pollifrone become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pollifrone went from 138 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 18 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Pollifrone?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollifrone, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Pollifrone in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pollifrone appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.7%), Hispanic (1.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Pollifrone (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 Pollifrone mean?
An Italian surname meaning "many fruits" or "abundance of fruits". 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 Pollifrone (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 Americans have the surname Pollifrone?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.