2000
#68,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 267
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Siani
A surname derived from the Italian place name Siano, originally designating someone from that location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 282 Americans carry the last name Siani. That puts it at #82,600 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,215,441 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Siani 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
282
1 in 1,215,441
Census rank
#82,600
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
246
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 246 bearers of the surname Siani in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 82600th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Siani, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Siani
The surname SIANI originated in Italy during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the place name Siano, a small town located in the province of Salerno, Campania region. The name Siano itself may have been derived from the Latin word "sianum," which means "territory planted with beans."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname SIANI can be found in a document from the 13th century, which mentions a man named Riccardo Siani from the town of Siano. This suggests that the surname was already well-established in the area by that time.
In the 14th century, the SIANI name appeared in the records of the Republic of Amalfi, a powerful maritime trading republic located on the Gulf of Salerno. This indicates that members of the SIANI family may have been involved in trade and commerce during that period.
During the Renaissance, a notable figure bearing the SIANI surname was Pietro Antonio Siani (1459-1513), a humanist scholar and poet from Naples. He was renowned for his Latin poetry and his translations of ancient Greek texts.
Another prominent individual with the SIANI name was Girolamo Siani (1625-1689), a Baroque painter from Naples. He is best known for his religious works, many of which can still be found in churches throughout southern Italy.
In the 18th century, a SIANI family from the town of Siano near Salerno produced several notable figures. Francesco Siani (1715-1792) was a jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Kingdom of Naples. His son, Domenico Siani (1754-1818), was a philosopher and educator who founded a school in Naples.
During the 19th century, Giuseppe Siani (1833-1899) was a prominent politician and lawyer from Campania. He served as a member of the Italian Parliament and was actively involved in the Italian unification movement.
As the SIANI surname spread throughout Italy and beyond, it underwent some variations in spelling, such as Siano, Siani, and Sianni. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the small town of Siano in the Campania region of southern Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Siani
Among Census respondents with the surname Siani, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Siani 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 Siani surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 213
- Two or more races4.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 7
- Black or African American2.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Siani
Siani 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
#76,029
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 253
-14 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 7,247 places
2020
#82,600
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 246
-7 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 6,571 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #68,782 | 267 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #76,029 | 253 | 0.09 | -14 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 7,247 places |
| 2020 | #82,600 | 246 | 0.08 | -7 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 6,571 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 Siani 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 | #76,029 | #82,600 | -8.6% |
| Count | 253 | 246 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Siani bearers went from 253 to 246 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 6,571 positions in the national ranking, going from #76,029 to #82,600.
FAQ
Siani surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Siani?
Name Census estimates that about 282 living Americans carry the surname Siani. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,215,441 residents.
How common is Siani?
Siani ranks #82,600 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 246 people with the surname Siani. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (282), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Siani.
Has Siani become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Siani went from 253 recorded bearers to 246. That is a decrease of 7 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #76,029 to #82,600.
What does the Census say about the background of Siani?
Among Census respondents with the surname Siani, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Siani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (213 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Siani appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.6%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Siani (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 Siani mean?
A surname derived from the Italian place name Siano, originally designating someone from that location. 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 Siani (0.08 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 Siani?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.