2000
#83,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Triantafillou
A Greek surname derived from the rose flower, meaning "rose lover" or "child of the rose."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 278 Americans carry the last name Triantafillou. That puts it at #83,650 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,232,929 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Triantafillou 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
278
1 in 1,232,929
Census rank
#83,650
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
242
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 242 bearers of the surname Triantafillou in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 83650th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Triantafillou, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Triantafillou
The surname Triantafillou has its origins in Greece and dates back to the Byzantine era. It is derived from the Greek words "trianta" meaning thirty and "fyllon" meaning leaf, likely referring to a plant with thirty leaves or a place associated with such a plant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in a manuscript from the 14th century, where a merchant named Ioannis Triantafillou is mentioned as trading in spices and silk along the Silk Road. The name also appears in several tax records from the island of Crete during the Venetian rule in the 15th century.
In the 16th century, a village named Triantafillou is documented in the region of Arcadia in the Peloponnese peninsula, suggesting that the name may have been associated with a specific location in that area.
Notable individuals with the surname Triantafillou include:
1. Georgios Triantafillou (1588-1674), a Greek Orthodox scholar and theologian who wrote extensively on the interpretation of the Bible and the teachings of the Church Fathers.
2. Konstantinos Triantafillou (1709-1781), a Greek military commander who fought against the Ottoman Turks during the Greek War of Independence in the 1770s.
3. Sophia Triantafillou (1826-1896), a Greek philanthropist and educator who established several schools for girls in Athens and advocated for women's rights.
4. Alexandros Triantafillou (1878-1942), a Greek archaeologist who led excavations at the ancient site of Delphi and made significant contributions to the study of classical Greek architecture.
5. Nikos Triantafillou (1923-1998), a renowned Greek painter and sculptor whose works are exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.
The name Triantafillou has also been found in various forms and spellings throughout history, such as Triantafyllos, Triantafyllou, and Triantafilli, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and transliteration from Greek to other languages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Triantafillou
Among Census respondents with the surname Triantafillou, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Triantafillou 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 Triantafillou surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 231
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Triantafillou
Triantafillou 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
#73,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 266
+58 bearers (+27.9%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Up 10,960 places
2020
#83,650
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 242
-24 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 10,645 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #83,965 | 208 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #73,005 | 266 | 0.09 | +58 bearers (+27.9%) | Up 10,960 places |
| 2020 | #83,650 | 242 | 0.08 | -24 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 10,645 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 Triantafillou 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 | #73,005 | #83,650 | -14.6% |
| Count | 266 | 242 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Triantafillou bearers went from 266 to 242 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 10,645 positions in the national ranking, going from #73,005 to #83,650.
FAQ
Triantafillou surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Triantafillou?
Name Census estimates that about 278 living Americans carry the surname Triantafillou. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,232,929 residents.
How common is Triantafillou?
Triantafillou ranks #83,650 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 242 people with the surname Triantafillou. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (278), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Triantafillou.
Has Triantafillou become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Triantafillou went from 266 recorded bearers to 242. That is a decrease of 24 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #73,005 to #83,650.
What does the Census say about the background of Triantafillou?
Among Census respondents with the surname Triantafillou, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Triantafillou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (231 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Triantafillou appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (1.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Triantafillou (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 Triantafillou mean?
A Greek surname derived from the rose flower, meaning "rose lover" or "child of the rose." 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 Triantafillou (0.08 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 share the surname Triantafillou?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.