Tosti last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tosti

An occupational surname derived from the Italian word "tostare" meaning "to roast" or "toast."

Tosti, 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 Tosti surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tosti in America

Tosti is the 33343rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tosti surname appeared 685 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tosti.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tosti 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 33343 32267 3.28%
Count 685 673 1.77%
Proportion per 100k 0.23 0.25 -8.33%

The history of the last name Tosti

The surname Tosti originates from Italy and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Italian word "tosto", which means "quick" or "speedy". This suggests that the name may have been given as a nickname to someone who was particularly swift or agile.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tosti can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of documents from the medieval city of Bari in southern Italy, dating back to the 11th century. The name appears in various forms, such as "Tostus" and "Tostius", indicating its evolving spelling over time.

During the Middle Ages, the Tosti family was particularly prominent in the region of Apulia, located in the heel of Italy's "boot". Several members of the family held influential positions in local government and ecclesiastical institutions. One notable figure was Ambrogio Tosti, a 13th-century jurist and judge from the city of Bari.

In the 15th century, the Tosti name gained further recognition with the birth of Giovanbattista Tosti, a renowned humanist scholar and philosopher from Naples. Born in 1452, Tosti was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of the Italian Renaissance, known for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.

Another notable individual with the surname Tosti was Luigi Tosti, a 19th-century Italian historian and prelate. Born in 1811 in the town of Galatina, Tosti served as the Archbishop of Monreale and authored several important works on the history of the Catholic Church in Italy.

Throughout history, the Tosti surname has also been associated with various place names and localities in Italy. For example, the town of Tosto in the region of Abruzzo is believed to have derived its name from the surname, suggesting that the Tosti family may have once held significant influence or landholdings in the area.

Other notable individuals with the surname Tosti include Raffaele Tosti, an Italian composer of the late 19th century known for his popular Neapolitan songs, and Vincenzo Tosti, a 20th-century Italian politician and journalist who served as a member of the Italian Senate.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tosti

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

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 Tosti was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.60% 648
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 4.67% 32

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 Tosti has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.60% 95.10% -0.53%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.19% (S)%
Hispanic 4.67% 3.27% 35.26%

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 Tosti was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Tosti last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tosti-surname-popularity/.

"Tosti last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tosti-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Tosti last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/tosti-surname-popularity/.

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