Find out how popular the last name Taranto is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Taranto.

Taranto, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Taranto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Taranto in America

Taranto is the 14686th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Taranto surname appeared 2,025 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Taranto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Taranto to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Taranto

The surname Taranto is of Italian origin, with roots tracing back to the city of Taranto in the Apulia region of southern Italy. The name likely derives from the ancient Greek word "Taras," which was the name of a mythological hero who founded the city of Tarentum, now known as Taranto.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Taranto can be found in historical documents from the 13th century in the area surrounding the city of Taranto. The name was prominent among noble families and landowners in the region during the medieval period. One notable figure with this surname was Pietro Taranto, a 14th-century philosopher and theologian from the city of Taranto.

In the 15th century, the surname Taranto appeared in Venetian records, suggesting that families with this name had migrated to the Republic of Venice. One prominent individual from this era was Gian Battista Taranto, a renowned painter from Venice who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

The surname Taranto also has a connection to the island of Sicily, where it was adopted by families in the city of the same name, derived from the ancient Greek word "Taras." One notable figure with this surname was Francesco Taranto, a 16th-century Sicilian architect and engineer who designed several churches and buildings in Palermo.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Taranto surname spread throughout Italy and beyond. Domenico Taranto, a 17th-century Italian composer and music theorist, was born in Naples and helped popularize the surname in that region. Another notable bearer of the name was Antonio Taranto, a 19th-century Italian painter and sculptor from the town of Molfetta near Bari.

While the surname Taranto is predominantly Italian, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with strong Italian immigration, such as Argentina and the United States. However, its origins can be traced back to the ancient city of Taranto in southern Italy and the mythological figure of Taras.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Taranto

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Taranto.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Taranto was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Taranto has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Taranto was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Taranto, please contact us.

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