2000
#12,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,220
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Taormina
Habitational surname referring to someone from Taormina, a city in Sicily, Italy, likely derived from the Greek Tauromenion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,512 Americans carry the last name Taormina. That puts it at #13,319 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,447 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Taormina 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
2.5K
1 in 136,447
Census rank
#13,319
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,191 bearers of the surname Taormina in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13319th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Taormina, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Taormina
The surname Taormina originates from Sicily, Italy and can be traced back to the 11th century. It is derived from the name of the Sicilian town of Taormina, which dates back to ancient Greek times and was originally called Tauromenion. The name is likely derived from the Greek words "tauros" meaning bull and "omene" meaning haunches or ridge, referring to the town's location on a ridge with the shape of a bull's haunches.
Taormina first appeared in records as a surname in the 12th century, when it was spelled "Taurmina" or "Tauromina". The town of Taormina was mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman texts, and the surname may have originated with families who lived in or were associated with the town during this early period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname was Guglielmo Taormina, a nobleman from Messina who was mentioned in a document from 1185. Another early bearer was Riccardo Taormina, a merchant from Palermo who was active in the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in Catalan records as "Tormina" or "Taurmina", reflecting the influence of the Aragonese rulers of Sicily at the time. Notable bearers from this period include Pietro Taormina, a judge in Messina in 1328, and Antonello Taormina, a painter from Palermo who was active in the late 15th century.
During the Renaissance, the Taormina family produced several notable figures, including the humanist scholar Vincenzo Taormina (1490-1558) from Messina, and the architect and military engineer Antonio Taormina (1521-1591) from Palermo, who worked on fortifications in Malta and Naples.
In the 17th century, the surname was also found in Spain and Spanish colonies, likely carried by Sicilian emigrants or soldiers who served in the Spanish Empire. One example is Juan Taormina, a Spanish naval officer who participated in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.
Throughout history, the surname Taormina has been associated with various professions and social classes, from nobility and scholars to merchants and artisans. While it remains most common in Sicily, bearers of the name can be found in other parts of Italy and the world due to migration and diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taormina
Among Census respondents with the surname Taormina, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Taormina 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 Taormina surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 1,947
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 157
- Two or more races2.6% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Taormina
Taormina 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
#13,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,250
+30 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 740 places
2020
#13,319
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,191
-59 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 178 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,757 | 2,220 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,497 | 2,250 | 0.76 | +30 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 740 places |
| 2020 | #13,319 | 2,191 | 0.73 | -59 bearers (-2.6%) | Up 178 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 Taormina 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 | #13,497 | #13,319 | 1.3% |
| Count | 2,250 | 2,191 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.73 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Taormina bearers went from 2,250 to 2,191 (-2.6% change). The surname moved up 178 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,497 to #13,319.
FAQ
Taormina surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Taormina?
Name Census estimates that about 2,512 living Americans carry the surname Taormina. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,447 residents.
How common is Taormina?
Taormina ranks #13,319 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,191 people with the surname Taormina. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,512), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Taormina.
Has Taormina become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Taormina went from 2,250 recorded bearers to 2,191. That is a decrease of 59 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,497 to #13,319.
What does the Census say about the background of Taormina?
Among Census respondents with the surname Taormina, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Taormina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (1,947 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Taormina appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Hispanic (7.2%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Taormina (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 Taormina mean?
Habitational surname referring to someone from Taormina, a city in Sicily, Italy, likely derived from the Greek Tauromenion. 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 Taormina (0.73 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 are called Taormina?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Taormina? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.