2000
#41,448
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 495
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Viscusi
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "viscum," meaning mistletoe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 518 Americans carry the last name Viscusi. That puts it at #50,074 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 661,688 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Viscusi 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
518
1 in 661,688
Census rank
#50,074
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
452
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 452 bearers of the surname Viscusi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 50074th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Viscusi, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Viscusi
The surname Viscusi has its origins in Italy, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the word "visco," which means "mistletoe" in Italian. This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with people who lived near or worked with mistletoe plants.
One of the earliest known references to the Viscusi name can be found in an Italian manuscript from the late 1500s, where a certain Francesco Viscusi is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Calabria. This region, located in southern Italy, is considered a likely area where the name first emerged.
Over the centuries, the Viscusi name spread to other parts of Italy, with variations in spelling such as Viscuzzo and Viscuso being recorded. It is also worth noting that several small towns and villages in Italy bear names similar to Viscusi, indicating a possible connection between the surname and these place names.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the Viscusi surname was Giuseppe Viscusi, an Italian philosopher and writer born in 1842 in Calabria. He published several works on philosophy and ethics, and his writings contributed to the intellectual discourse of the time.
Another notable individual with this surname was Antonio Viscusi, born in 1875 in Sicily. He was a skilled artisan and sculptor, renowned for his intricate works in marble and stone. His sculptures can be found in various churches and public spaces throughout Italy.
In more recent times, the name Viscusi has been associated with a number of academics and researchers. For instance, Kip Viscusi, an American economist born in 1949, is renowned for his work in the field of risk analysis and has authored several influential books on the subject.
While the Viscusi surname is most commonly found in Italy, it has also been carried by individuals in other parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Italian immigrant populations, such as the United States and Argentina.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Viscusi
Among Census respondents with the surname Viscusi, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Viscusi 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 Viscusi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 428
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 10
- Two or more races2.0% · 9
- Black or African American0.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Viscusi
Viscusi 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
#42,308
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 513
+18 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 860 places
2020
#50,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 452
-61 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 7,766 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #41,448 | 495 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,308 | 513 | 0.17 | +18 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 860 places |
| 2020 | #50,074 | 452 | 0.15 | -61 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 7,766 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 Viscusi 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 | #42,308 | #50,074 | -18.4% |
| Count | 513 | 452 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.15 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Viscusi bearers went from 513 to 452 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 7,766 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,308 to #50,074.
FAQ
Viscusi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Viscusi?
Name Census estimates that about 518 living Americans carry the surname Viscusi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 661,688 residents.
How common is Viscusi?
Viscusi ranks #50,074 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 452 people with the surname Viscusi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (518), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Viscusi.
Has Viscusi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Viscusi went from 513 recorded bearers to 452. That is a decrease of 61 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,308 to #50,074.
What does the Census say about the background of Viscusi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Viscusi, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Viscusi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (428 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Viscusi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Hispanic (2.2%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Viscusi (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 Viscusi mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "viscum," meaning mistletoe. 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 Viscusi (0.15 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 Viscusi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.