2000
#4,192
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,840
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.91
Rare Last name
Valenti
Derived from the Latin name Valentinus, meaning "strong, vigorous, or healthy."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,864 Americans carry the last name Valenti. That puts it at #4,448 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,668 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Valenti 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Valenti with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.9K
1 in 38,668
Census rank
#4,448
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,730 bearers of the surname Valenti in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4448th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Valenti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Valenti
The surname Valenti originated in Italy during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Latin name Valentius, which itself comes from the root word "valens" meaning strong or vigorous. The name was particularly common in regions like Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio.
In the 13th century, the Valenti family was among the prominent noble houses in Florence. Records show various members holding positions of power within the city's government and guilds. One notable figure was Berto Valenti, a wealthy banker and art patron born around 1260.
The Valenti name can be traced back even further through the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical manuscripts from the Lombard era in Italy. An entry from 774 AD mentions a landowner named Valenti who received a royal decree.
As the surname spread across the Italian peninsula, regional variations emerged such as Valentini, Valentino, and Valentino. Place names like Valenti di Sotto and Valenti di Sopra in Emilia-Romagna may have contributed to these spellings.
Among the distinguished Valenti of the Renaissance was Biagio Valenti, a Florentine painter born in 1491 and known for his religious artworks adorning churches throughout Tuscany. In the 17th century, Vincenzo Valenti (1609-1687) was a celebrated playwright from Naples.
Other notable figures include Giovanni Battista Valenti (1679-1759), an Italian Baroque sculptor, and Giacinto Valenti (1784-1856), a patriotic poet and revolutionary during the Risorgimento period of Italian unification. Salvatore Valenti (1856-1946) was a prominent anarchist activist born in Sicily.
Valenti remains a widely prevalent surname across Italy today, a testament to its longstanding historical roots dating back centuries to the medieval era and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valenti
Among Census respondents with the surname Valenti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Valenti 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 Valenti surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 6,896
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 559
- Two or more races2.4% · 183
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 49
- Black or African American0.4% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Valenti
Valenti 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
#4,341
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,174
+334 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 2.77
Rank movement Down 149 places
2020
#4,448
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,730
-444 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.59
Rank movement Down 107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,192 | 7,840 | 2.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,341 | 8,174 | 2.77 | +334 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 149 places |
| 2020 | #4,448 | 7,730 | 2.59 | -444 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 107 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 Valenti 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 | #4,341 | #4,448 | -2.5% |
| Count | 8,174 | 7,730 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.77 | 2.59 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Valenti bearers went from 8,174 to 7,730 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 107 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,341 to #4,448.
FAQ
Valenti surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Valenti?
Name Census estimates that about 8,864 living Americans carry the surname Valenti. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,668 residents.
How common is Valenti?
Valenti ranks #4,448 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,730 people with the surname Valenti. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,864), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Valenti.
Has Valenti become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Valenti went from 8,174 recorded bearers to 7,730. That is a decrease of 444 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,341 to #4,448.
What does the Census say about the background of Valenti?
Among Census respondents with the surname Valenti, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Valenti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (6,896 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Valenti 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 (2.4%). 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 Valenti (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 Valenti mean?
Derived from the Latin name Valentinus, meaning "strong, vigorous, or healthy." 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 Valenti (2.59 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 are called Valenti?
Find out how many people have the surname Valenti on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.