2000
#14,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,884
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Taranto
An Italian locational surname referring to someone from the city of Taranto in southern Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,137 Americans carry the last name Taranto. That puts it at #15,179 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,390 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Taranto 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
2.1K
1 in 160,390
Census rank
#15,179
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,864 bearers of the surname Taranto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15179th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Taranto, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The earliest recorded instances of the surname Taranto can be found in historical documents from the 13th century in the area surrounding the city of Taranto.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taranto
Among Census respondents with the surname Taranto, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Taranto 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 Taranto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 1,662
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 134
- Two or more races2.6% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 14
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Taranto
Taranto 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
#14,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,025
+141 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 183 places
2020
#15,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,864
-161 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 493 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,503 | 1,884 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,686 | 2,025 | 0.69 | +141 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 183 places |
| 2020 | #15,179 | 1,864 | 0.62 | -161 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 493 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 Taranto 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 | #14,686 | #15,179 | -3.4% |
| Count | 2,025 | 1,864 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.62 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Taranto bearers went from 2,025 to 1,864 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 493 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,686 to #15,179.
FAQ
Taranto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Taranto?
Name Census estimates that about 2,137 living Americans carry the surname Taranto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,390 residents.
How common is Taranto?
Taranto ranks #15,179 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,864 people with the surname Taranto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,137), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Taranto.
Has Taranto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Taranto went from 2,025 recorded bearers to 1,864. That is a decrease of 161 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,686 to #15,179.
What does the Census say about the background of Taranto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Taranto, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. 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 Taranto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (1,662 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Taranto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), 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 Taranto (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 Taranto mean?
An Italian locational surname referring to someone from the city of Taranto in southern Italy. 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 Taranto (0.62 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 common is the surname Taranto?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Taranto? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.