2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Raffaeli
An Italian surname likely deriving from a place name or referring to someone from the town of Raffaeli.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Raffaeli. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Raffaeli 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Raffaeli in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Raffaeli, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Raffaeli
The surname Raffaeli is of Italian origin, deriving from the medieval personal name Raffaele, which in turn comes from the biblical Hebrew name Raphael meaning "God has healed." The name first appeared in the 13th century in the region of Tuscany, particularly in the cities of Florence and Siena.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a document from 1296, which mentions a certain Raffaele di Benedetto, a merchant from Florence. Another early record is from 1324, where a Raffaello Raffaeli is listed as a member of the Sienese guild of goldsmiths.
The surname Raffaeli has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous is the Renaissance painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio, better known as Raphael (1483-1520), who was born in the city of Urbino but spent a significant portion of his career in Rome.
Another prominent figure was the 17th-century sculptor and architect, Giovan Battista Raffaeli (1598-1676), who worked primarily in Rome and was known for his contributions to the design of several churches and palaces.
In the 19th century, the Italian author and journalist Giuseppe Raffaeli (1819-1884) gained recognition for his works on Italian history and literature. He was a member of the Accademia della Crusca, an influential literary society based in Florence.
The surname Raffaeli has also been linked to various places in Italy, including the town of Raffaeli in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, which likely derived its name from the presence of families with this surname in the area.
While the name Raffaeli has retained its Italian roots, it has also spread to other parts of the world through immigration, particularly to North and South America, where it can be found among Italian-American and Italian-descended communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raffaeli
Among Census respondents with the surname Raffaeli, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Raffaeli 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 Raffaeli surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Raffaeli
Raffaeli 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+10 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 991 places
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-14 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,016 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 991 places |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 9,016 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 Raffaeli 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 | #147,253 | #156,269 | -6.1% |
| Count | 112 | 98 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Raffaeli bearers went from 112 to 98 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 9,016 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #156,269.
FAQ
Raffaeli surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Raffaeli?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Raffaeli. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Raffaeli?
Raffaeli ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 98 people with the surname Raffaeli. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Raffaeli.
Has Raffaeli become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Raffaeli went from 112 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 14 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Raffaeli?
Among Census respondents with the surname Raffaeli, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Raffaeli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Raffaeli appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Raffaeli (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 Raffaeli mean?
An Italian surname likely deriving from a place name or referring to someone from the town of Raffaeli. 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 Raffaeli (0.03 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 Raffaeli?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.