2000
#2,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,036
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.94
Uncommon Last name
Giordano
An Italian surname referring to someone from the Jordan River or from Jordan.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,907 Americans carry the last name Giordano. That puts it at #2,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,141 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Giordano 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 Giordano with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,141
Census rank
#2,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,616 bearers of the surname Giordano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Giordano, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Giordano
Giordano is an Italian surname derived from the given name Giordano, which is the Italian form of the Latin name Jordanus, meaning "from the Jordan River." The name's origins can be traced back to the early medieval period, when it was likely bestowed upon individuals who had traveled to the Jordan River or lived near a body of water bearing a similar name.
The surname Giordano is particularly prevalent in southern Italy, including the regions of Campania, Puglia, and Basilicata. It is believed to have emerged in these areas during the 12th and 13th centuries, when the use of hereditary surnames became more widespread among the Italian population.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Giordano can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Benedictine abbey of Cava de' Tirreni in Campania. The codex contains references to individuals bearing the name Giordano as early as the 11th century.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Giordano da Pisa (c. 1260–c. 1310) was a Dominican friar and preacher who gained fame for his sermons and writings on moral and religious topics. He is considered one of the most influential preachers of his time in Italy.
Another prominent individual with the surname Giordano was Luca Giordano (1634-1705), a renowned Baroque painter from Naples. He was highly prolific and produced numerous works for churches, palaces, and private collections throughout Italy and Spain.
During the Renaissance period, the Giordano family played a significant role in the political and cultural life of Naples. One member, Pietro Giordano (c. 1482-1548), was a humanist scholar and author who served as a tutor to the children of the Aragonese nobility.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe Giordano (1806-1878) was an Italian composer and music educator who contributed to the development of opera and instrumental music in Naples. His works were performed throughout Europe during his lifetime.
Filippo Giordano (1846-1893) was an Italian painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting everyday life in southern Italy. He was a member of the influential Macchiaioli movement, which pioneered plein air painting in Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Giordano
Among Census respondents with the surname Giordano, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Giordano 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 Giordano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 14,105
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 983
- Two or more races2.1% · 323
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 97
- Black or African American0.5% · 75
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Giordano
Giordano 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
#2,197
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,569
+533 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 5.62
Rank movement Down 125 places
2020
#2,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,616
-953 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 5.22
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,072 | 16,036 | 5.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,197 | 16,569 | 5.62 | +533 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 125 places |
| 2020 | #2,273 | 15,616 | 5.22 | -953 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 76 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 Giordano 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 | #2,197 | #2,273 | -3.5% |
| Count | 16,569 | 15,616 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.62 | 5.22 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Giordano bearers went from 16,569 to 15,616 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,197 to #2,273.
FAQ
Giordano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Giordano?
Name Census estimates that about 17,907 living Americans carry the surname Giordano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,141 residents.
How common is Giordano?
Giordano ranks #2,273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,616 people with the surname Giordano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,907), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Giordano.
Has Giordano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Giordano went from 16,569 recorded bearers to 15,616. That is a decrease of 953 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,197 to #2,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Giordano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Giordano, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Giordano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (14,105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Giordano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (6.3%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Giordano (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 Giordano mean?
An Italian surname referring to someone from the Jordan River or from Jordan. 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 Giordano (5.22 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 Giordano?
You can see how common the surname Giordano is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.