2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tovani
An Italian surname potentially relating to the Italian word "tavano", meaning horsefly or gadfly.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Tovani. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tovani 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Tovani in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tovani, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tovani
The surname Tovani has its origins in Italy, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "tovaglia," which means tablecloth. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked with or produced tablecloths or other similar textiles.
One of the earliest known references to the name Tovani can be found in the records of the town of Siena, in the region of Tuscany. In the year 1578, a man named Giovanni Tovani was listed as a merchant in the city's guild records. This indicates that the name was already established in the area by that time.
The name Tovani also appears in several historical documents from other regions of Italy, such as Venice and Milan. In the late 17th century, a family by the name of Tovani was recorded as owning a textile workshop in the city of Florence, further reinforcing the connection between the name and the textile industry.
One notable individual with the surname Tovani was Giambattista Tovani, a renowned painter from Bologna who lived from 1688 to 1762. His works can be found in several churches and galleries throughout Italy, and he is considered an important figure in the Baroque art movement.
Another prominent Tovani was Alessandro Tovani, a playwright and poet who lived in Venice during the early 19th century. His plays were widely performed in theaters across Italy, and he is credited with helping to popularize the use of the Venetian dialect in literature.
In the world of music, the name Tovani is associated with Ettore Tovani, an Italian composer and conductor who lived from 1892 to 1976. He is best known for his operas and orchestral works, many of which were inspired by traditional Italian folk music.
Moving into the 20th century, one of the most well-known individuals with the surname Tovani was Sergio Tovani, an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed several critically acclaimed movies in the 1960s and 1970s, including "The Desert of the Tartars" and "The Night Porter."
While the name Tovani has spread across various regions of Italy and beyond, its origins can be traced back to the textile industry of medieval and Renaissance Italy. The name has been carried by artists, writers, musicians, and other notable figures throughout history, solidifying its place in the rich cultural heritage of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tovani
Among Census respondents with the surname Tovani, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tovani 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 Tovani surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tovani
Tovani 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-9 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,904 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 318 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 17,904 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 318 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 Tovani 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 | #148,347 | #148,665 | -0.2% |
| Count | 111 | 111 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tovani bearers went from 111 to 111 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 318 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #148,665.
FAQ
Tovani surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tovani?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Tovani. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Tovani?
Tovani ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 111 people with the surname Tovani. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Tovani.
Has Tovani become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tovani went from 111 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Tovani?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tovani, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Tovani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tovani appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (4.5%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Tovani (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 Tovani mean?
An Italian surname potentially relating to the Italian word "tavano", meaning horsefly or gadfly. 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 Tovani (0.04 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 have the last name Tovani?
Want to know how many people have the last name Tovani? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.