2000
#96,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 175
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Dionisi
An Italian surname derived from the given name Dionisio, itself from the Greek god Dionysus.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 220 Americans carry the last name Dionisi. That puts it at #100,469 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,557,974 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dionisi 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
220
1 in 1,557,974
Census rank
#100,469
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
192
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 192 bearers of the surname Dionisi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 100469th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dionisi, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dionisi
The surname DIONISI is of Italian origin, originating from the regions of Tuscany and Lazio during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Latin name "Dionysius," which was the Roman version of the Greek name "Dionysios," meaning "devoted to Dionysus," the god of wine and revelry.
The earliest recorded instances of the DIONISI surname can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in historical documents and records from various Tuscan and Lazio towns and cities. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Giovanni Dionisi, a merchant from Siena born in 1285, and Bartolomeo Dionisi, a notary from Rome who lived in the late 14th century.
In the 15th century, the DIONISI name appeared in the famous Catasto of 1427, a tax record compiled in Florence, indicating the presence of the family in the city during that time. One notable figure was Antonio Dionisi, a Florentine scholar and humanist born in 1447, who wrote several works on classical literature and philosophy.
The DIONISI surname also has historical connections to various place names in Italy. For example, the town of Dionisi in the province of Macerata, located in the Marche region, likely derived its name from the surname itself, suggesting that members of the Dionisi family may have resided or held property there.
Throughout history, several individuals with the DIONISI surname have achieved prominence in various fields. These include:
1. Filippo Dionisi (1501-1574), an Italian jurist and scholar from Verona.
2. Gian Giacomo Dionisi (1599-1659), an Italian architect and sculptor from Ferrara.
3. Giovanni Dionisi (1737-1808), an Italian scholar and historian from Verona, known for his extensive work on the history of the Vespro Siciliano, a 13th-century rebellion against the Angevin rule in Sicily.
4. Giacomo Dionisi (1737-1808), an Italian writer and poet from Verona, brother of Giovanni Dionisi.
5. Marcantonio Dionisi (1718-1788), an Italian mathematician and astronomer from Verona, known for his contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
These examples illustrate the long-standing presence and historical significance of the DIONISI surname, which has its roots in the ancient Roman and Greek cultures, and has been carried by notable individuals across various disciplines over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dionisi
Among Census respondents with the surname Dionisi, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dionisi 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 Dionisi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.7% · 155
- Hispanic or Latino15.6% · 30
- Two or more races3.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dionisi
Dionisi 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
#94,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 193
+18 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 1,750 places
2020
#100,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 192
-1 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 5,739 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #96,480 | 175 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #94,730 | 193 | 0.07 | +18 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 1,750 places |
| 2020 | #100,469 | 192 | 0.06 | -1 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 5,739 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 Dionisi 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 | #94,730 | #100,469 | -6.1% |
| Count | 193 | 192 | -0.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.06 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dionisi bearers went from 193 to 192 (-0.5% change). The surname moved down 5,739 positions in the national ranking, going from #94,730 to #100,469.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Dionisi
FAQ
Dionisi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dionisi?
Name Census estimates that about 220 living Americans carry the surname Dionisi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,557,974 residents.
How common is Dionisi?
Dionisi ranks #100,469 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 192 people with the surname Dionisi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (220), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Dionisi.
Has Dionisi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dionisi went from 193 recorded bearers to 192. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #94,730 to #100,469.
What does the Census say about the background of Dionisi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dionisi, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.6%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Dionisi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.7% (155 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dionisi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.7%), Hispanic (15.6%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Dionisi (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 Dionisi mean?
An Italian surname derived from the given name Dionisio, itself from the Greek god Dionysus. 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 Dionisi (0.06 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 common is the surname Dionisi?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Dionisi is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.