2000
#11,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,465
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Ponte
An Italian toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a bridge or worked as a bridge keeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,845 Americans carry the last name Ponte. That puts it at #12,011 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,476 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ponte 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 Ponte with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 120,476
Census rank
#12,011
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,481 bearers of the surname Ponte in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12011th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ponte, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ponte
The surname PONTE is of Italian origin, deriving from the Italian word "ponte," meaning "bridge." The name likely originated in the medieval period, with early bearers living near a significant bridge or being associated with bridge construction or maintenance.
PONTE is a locational surname, suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name hailed from a specific place containing a notable bridge. Several Italian towns and villages, such as Ponte Nelle Alpi and Ponte San Pietro, incorporate the word "ponte" in their names, reflecting the influence of bridges on the local geography and history.
Historical records from the 13th century document the presence of the PONTE surname in various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Lombardy, and Veneto. Notable early bearers include Matteo Ponte, a renowned architect from Venice who designed several iconic bridges in the city during the 15th century.
The PONTE surname can be found in many archival sources, such as the Codice Diplomatico della Repubblica di Genova, which contains references to individuals with this surname in Genoa as early as the 12th century. Additionally, the Catasto Fiorentino, a tax record from Florence in the 15th century, lists several households with the PONTE surname.
Notable individuals with the surname PONTE include:
1. Lorenzo Ponte (1749-1838), an Italian librettist who collaborated with composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, providing the librettos for operas like "Le nozze di Figaro" and "Così fan tutte."
2. Giovanni Ponte (1535-1592), an Italian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and the study of celestial mechanics.
3. Antonio da Ponte (c. 1512-1597), a Venetian architect and sculptor known for his work on the Basilica di San Marco and other notable buildings in Venice.
4. Jacopo da Ponte (c. 1510-1592), an Italian painter from the Venetian Renaissance period, known for his religious works and portraits.
5. Ludovico Ponte (c. 1522-1585), an Italian sculptor and architect who worked on the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and other significant projects during the Renaissance.
The PONTE surname has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, including Ponti, Pontis, and Pontelli, reflecting regional linguistic differences and the evolution of the Italian language over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ponte
Among Census respondents with the surname Ponte, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ponte 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 Ponte surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.9% · 1,785
- Hispanic or Latino21.9% · 543
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 68
- Two or more races2.1% · 53
- Black or African American0.9% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ponte
Ponte 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
#10,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,924
+459 bearers (+18.6%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Up 766 places
2020
#12,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,481
-443 bearers (-15.2%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 1,117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,660 | 2,465 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,894 | 2,924 | 0.99 | +459 bearers (+18.6%) | Up 766 places |
| 2020 | #12,011 | 2,481 | 0.83 | -443 bearers (-15.2%) | Down 1,117 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 Ponte 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 | #10,894 | #12,011 | -10.3% |
| Count | 2,924 | 2,481 | -15.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.83 | -16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ponte bearers went from 2,924 to 2,481 (-15.2% change). The surname moved down 1,117 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,894 to #12,011.
FAQ
Ponte surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ponte?
Name Census estimates that about 2,845 living Americans carry the surname Ponte. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,476 residents.
How common is Ponte?
Ponte ranks #12,011 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,481 people with the surname Ponte. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,845), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Ponte.
Has Ponte become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ponte went from 2,924 recorded bearers to 2,481. That is a decrease of 443 (-15.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,894 to #12,011.
What does the Census say about the background of Ponte?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ponte, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Ponte in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.9% (1,785 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ponte appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.9%), Hispanic (21.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Ponte (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 Ponte mean?
An Italian toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a bridge or worked as a bridge keeper. 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 Ponte (0.83 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 Ponte?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.