2000
#1,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,512
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.46
Uncommon Last name
Rossi
An Italian toponymic surname indicating a person who came from a place with red soil or lived near roses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,792 Americans carry the last name Rossi. That puts it at #1,387 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,904 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rossi 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 Rossi with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,904
Census rank
#1,387
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,108 bearers of the surname Rossi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1387th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rossi, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rossi
The surname Rossi originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "rosso," meaning "red," and likely referred to someone with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion. The name first appeared in records from the 12th century in regions such as Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Lombardy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rossi can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of documents from the Lombard period, which mentions a certain "Petrus Rubeus" in 1175. This Latin form of the name translates to "Peter the Red," suggesting a connection to the Italian "Rossi."
During the Renaissance period, several notable individuals bore the surname Rossi. Giovanni Battista Rossi (1494-1553) was a renowned architect from Florence who worked on the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Palazzo Pitti. Francesco de' Rossi (1510-1563) was a prominent Italian scholar and editor who published works by classical authors.
In the 17th century, Rossi emerged as a prominent surname in the arts and sciences. Adriana Basile Rossi (1591-1662) was a pioneering female architect and engineer from Venice, known for her work on the Convent of the Corpus Domini. Francesco Rosi (1634-1686) was a celebrated painter from Naples, renowned for his religious works and portraits.
The 18th century saw the rise of several influential Rossi figures. Luigi Rodolfo Rossi (1718-1790) was an Italian composer and music theorist from Livorno, known for his operas and treatises on music theory. Giovanni Gherardo de Rossi (1754-1827) was a prominent archaeologist and antiquarian from Rome, best known for his extensive collections of ancient inscriptions and artifacts.
In the 19th century, the Rossi surname gained prominence in the fields of science and politics. Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894) was a renowned archaeologist and Christian epigraphist from Rome, responsible for important discoveries in the Roman catacombs. Ernesto Rossi (1827-1896) was an influential Italian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 1887 to 1888.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rossi
Among Census respondents with the surname Rossi, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rossi 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 Rossi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 22,261
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 1,834
- Two or more races2.4% · 608
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 223
- Black or African American0.6% · 149
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rossi
Rossi 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
#1,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,183
+671 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 8.88
Rank movement Down 85 places
2020
#1,387
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,108
-1,075 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 8.40
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,263 | 25,512 | 9.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,348 | 26,183 | 8.88 | +671 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 85 places |
| 2020 | #1,387 | 25,108 | 8.40 | -1,075 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 39 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 Rossi 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 | #1,348 | #1,387 | -2.9% |
| Count | 26,183 | 25,108 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 8.88 | 8.40 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rossi bearers went from 26,183 to 25,108 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,348 to #1,387.
FAQ
Rossi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rossi?
Name Census estimates that about 28,792 living Americans carry the surname Rossi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,904 residents.
How common is Rossi?
Rossi ranks #1,387 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,108 people with the surname Rossi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,792), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Rossi.
Has Rossi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rossi went from 26,183 recorded bearers to 25,108. That is a decrease of 1,075 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,348 to #1,387.
What does the Census say about the background of Rossi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rossi, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Rossi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (22,261 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rossi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Hispanic (7.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Rossi (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 Rossi mean?
An Italian toponymic surname indicating a person who came from a place with red soil or lived near roses. 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 Rossi (8.40 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 share the surname Rossi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.