2000
#90,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 189
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Liberio
A surname connected to the Latin word liber, meaning "free" or "liberated."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 194 Americans carry the last name Liberio. That puts it at #110,961 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,766,775 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Liberio 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
194
1 in 1,766,775
Census rank
#110,961
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
169
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 169 bearers of the surname Liberio in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 110961st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Liberio, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Liberio
The surname Liberio has its origins in Italy, tracing back to the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "liber," meaning free or freeborn, possibly indicating that the name's earliest bearers were emancipated individuals or freemen.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Liberio can be found in historical records from the city of Genoa, where a merchant named Pietro Liberio was mentioned in a commercial transaction document dated 1287. This suggests that the name may have been particularly prevalent in the Genoa region during that time.
In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Giovanni Liberio was a renowned jurist and legal scholar in the city of Bologna. His treatises on civil law and Roman jurisprudence were widely studied and influenced the development of legal systems throughout Italy.
The name Liberio also appears in several ancient manuscripts and chronicles, including a 15th-century text from the Vatican Library that references a noble family called the "Liberii" who held significant influence in the Papal States during the Renaissance era.
Interestingly, the surname Liberio shares similarities with the Italian place name "Liberi," a small town in the province of Caserta, Campania. It is possible that the name originated from this location or that early bearers of the surname hailed from this region.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the surname Liberio, including:
1. Niccolò Liberio (1515-1589), a renowned Venetian architect known for his work on the Palazzo Ducale and St. Mark's Basilica.
2. Girolamo Liberio (1601-1676), a celebrated Italian painter and fresco artist whose works adorned numerous churches and palaces in Rome and Naples.
3. Francesca Liberio (1720-1792), a influential Italian writer and philosopher whose essays on ethics and social reform were widely read during the Enlightenment period.
4. Antonio Liberio (1810-1878), a celebrated Italian opera singer and tenor who performed in some of the most prestigious opera houses across Europe.
5. Emilio Liberio (1901-1983), an Italian diplomat and ambassador who served as Italy's representative to the United Nations and played a pivotal role in negotiating peace treaties after World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liberio
Among Census respondents with the surname Liberio, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Liberio 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 Liberio surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 154
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 13
- Two or more races1.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Liberio
Liberio 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
#105,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 170
-19 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 14,427 places
2020
#110,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 169
-1 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 5,882 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #90,652 | 189 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #105,079 | 170 | 0.06 | -19 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 14,427 places |
| 2020 | #110,961 | 169 | 0.06 | -1 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 5,882 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 Liberio 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 | #105,079 | #110,961 | -5.6% |
| Count | 170 | 169 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Liberio bearers went from 170 to 169 (-0.6% change). The surname moved down 5,882 positions in the national ranking, going from #105,079 to #110,961.
FAQ
Liberio surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Liberio?
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the surname Liberio. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,766,775 residents.
How common is Liberio?
Liberio ranks #110,961 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 169 people with the surname Liberio. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (194), 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 Liberio.
Has Liberio become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Liberio went from 170 recorded bearers to 169. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #105,079 to #110,961.
What does the Census say about the background of Liberio?
Among Census respondents with the surname Liberio, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Liberio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (154 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Liberio appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Hispanic (7.7%), Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Liberio (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 Liberio mean?
A surname connected to the Latin word liber, meaning "free" or "liberated." 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 Liberio (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 many people share the surname Liberio?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.