2000
#20,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,185
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Valeriano
A surname derived from the Latin name "Valerianus" meaning "of Valerius" or "strong, vigorous".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,159 Americans carry the last name Valeriano. That puts it at #15,050 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Valeriano 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
2.2K
1 in 158,756
Census rank
#15,050
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,883 bearers of the surname Valeriano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15050th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Valeriano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Valeriano
The surname Valeriano is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name Valerius. It is believed to have originated in the region of Lazio, which includes the city of Rome, as early as the 1st century AD.
Valerius was a common Roman name, and it is thought to have derived from the Latin word "valere," meaning "to be strong" or "to be well." The name may have been given to individuals who were physically strong or healthy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Valeriano can be found in the "Liber Pontificalis," a manuscript from the 6th century AD that chronicles the lives of popes. It mentions a Roman noble named Valeriano who lived during the reign of Pope Simplicius in the 5th century.
In the 9th century, a monk named Valeriano di Cividale is known for his work as a scribe and copyist of manuscripts in the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria in Valle di Cividale, located in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.
Another notable bearer of the name was Valeriano Regnart, a 13th-century Italian mathematician and astronomer from Parma. He is known for his work on the Julian calendar and his contributions to the understanding of planetary movements.
In the 14th century, a Florentine painter named Valeriano di Domenico is recorded as having worked on frescoes in various churches in Italy, including the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.
During the Renaissance period, Valeriano Bolzani (1495-1568) was an Italian humanist and scholar from Belluno, known for his work in translating ancient Greek texts into Latin.
Over the centuries, the surname Valeriano has been associated with various places and regions in Italy, including Lazio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, and Tuscany, among others. Variations in spelling, such as Valleriano, Valeriani, and Valleriani, have also been documented.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valeriano
Among Census respondents with the surname Valeriano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Valeriano 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 Valeriano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino70.4% · 1,326
- White18.0% · 338
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.8% · 185
- Black or African American1.1% · 21
- Two or more races0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Valeriano
Valeriano 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
#15,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,897
+712 bearers (+60.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 5,302 places
2020
#15,050
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,883
-14 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 392 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,744 | 1,185 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,442 | 1,897 | 0.64 | +712 bearers (+60.1%) | Up 5,302 places |
| 2020 | #15,050 | 1,883 | 0.63 | -14 bearers (-0.7%) | Up 392 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 Valeriano 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 | #15,442 | #15,050 | 2.5% |
| Count | 1,897 | 1,883 | -0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.63 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Valeriano bearers went from 1,897 to 1,883 (-0.7% change). The surname moved up 392 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,442 to #15,050.
FAQ
Valeriano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Valeriano?
Name Census estimates that about 2,159 living Americans carry the surname Valeriano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,756 residents.
How common is Valeriano?
Valeriano ranks #15,050 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,883 people with the surname Valeriano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Valeriano.
Has Valeriano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Valeriano went from 1,897 recorded bearers to 1,883. That is a decrease of 14 (-0.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,442 to #15,050.
What does the Census say about the background of Valeriano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Valeriano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Valeriano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (1,326 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Valeriano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (70.4%), White (18.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%). 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 Valeriano (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 Valeriano mean?
A surname derived from the Latin name "Valerianus" meaning "of Valerius" or "strong, vigorous". 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 Valeriano (0.63 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 Valeriano?
You can see how many people are called Valeriano on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.