2000
#14,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,912
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Prisco
An Italian occupational surname referring to a person who came from Prisco, Italy or worked with peaches.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,056 Americans carry the last name Prisco. That puts it at #15,680 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,709 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prisco 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
2.1K
1 in 166,709
Census rank
#15,680
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,793 bearers of the surname Prisco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15680th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prisco, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prisco
The surname Prisco is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin word "priscus," which means "ancient" or "old." This name arose during the Middle Ages in various regions of Italy, particularly in the regions of Campania and Lazio.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Prisco can be traced back to the 13th century in historical documents from the city of Naples, where it was often associated with noble families and individuals holding prominent positions within the Neapolitan society. One notable example is Tommaso Prisco, a renowned jurist and legal scholar who lived in Naples during the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name Prisco appeared in several records from the Papal States, particularly in the city of Rome. One notable figure was Guglielmo Prisco, a prominent ecclesiastical figure who served as a canon of the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican during the mid-14th century.
As the surname spread throughout Italy, it also took on various regional variations, such as Priscoli in the Abruzzo region and Prisciano in the Marche region. These variations often reflected local dialects and linguistic adaptations.
During the Renaissance period, several individuals bearing the surname Prisco gained recognition for their contributions to the arts and sciences. One such figure was Giovanni Battista Prisco, a renowned painter and architect from Naples who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
In the 18th century, the name Prisco gained prominence in the field of literature, with writers such as Girolamo Prisco, an Italian poet and scholar from Naples who published several acclaimed works during the mid-18th century.
Another notable individual bearing the surname Prisco was Pasquale Prisco, an Italian philosopher and political theorist from the Campania region, who lived during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His works on political philosophy and social reform had a significant impact on the intellectual discourse of his time.
Throughout the centuries, the surname Prisco has been associated with various place names and locations, such as the town of Prisciano in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, and the village of Prisco in the province of Avellino, Campania. These place names likely derived from the same Latin root as the surname, reflecting the historical presence of individuals bearing the name in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prisco
Among Census respondents with the surname Prisco, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Prisco 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 Prisco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 1,648
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 98
- Two or more races1.6% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prisco
Prisco 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
#14,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,977
+65 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 600 places
2020
#15,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,793
-184 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 723 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,357 | 1,912 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,957 | 1,977 | 0.67 | +65 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 600 places |
| 2020 | #15,680 | 1,793 | 0.60 | -184 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 723 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 Prisco 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 | #14,957 | #15,680 | -4.8% |
| Count | 1,977 | 1,793 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.60 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prisco bearers went from 1,977 to 1,793 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 723 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,957 to #15,680.
FAQ
Prisco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prisco?
Name Census estimates that about 2,056 living Americans carry the surname Prisco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,709 residents.
How common is Prisco?
Prisco ranks #15,680 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,793 people with the surname Prisco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,056), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Prisco.
Has Prisco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prisco went from 1,977 recorded bearers to 1,793. That is a decrease of 184 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,957 to #15,680.
What does the Census say about the background of Prisco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prisco, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Prisco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (1,648 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prisco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (5.5%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Prisco (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 Prisco mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a person who came from Prisco, Italy or worked with peaches. 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 Prisco (0.60 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 Prisco?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.