2000
#3,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,478
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.14
Uncommon Last name
Luciano
An Italian surname derived from the Latin name Lucianus, meaning "light" or "illumination."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,416 Americans carry the last name Luciano. That puts it at #3,496 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,024 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luciano 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 Luciano with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,024
Census rank
#3,496
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,955 bearers of the surname Luciano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3496th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luciano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 55.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luciano
The surname Luciano originates from Italy and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Latin name Lucianus, which was a Roman family name derived from the Latin word "lux" meaning "light." The name is believed to have originated in the central Italian region of Lazio.
In the early records, the name was often written as "Lucian" or "Luciano" with various spelling variations such as "Luciani" and "Luziano." One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a document from the city of Rome dated 1189, which mentions a man named "Petrus Lucianus."
The name Luciano has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Luciano di Pietro Buonavoglia, an Italian painter who lived in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. His works can be found in churches and museums across Italy.
Another notable Luciano was Luciano di Laurana, an Italian architect and sculptor who was active in the 15th century. He is best known for his work on the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, which is considered a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture.
In the 16th century, Luciano Laurana, an Italian painter and engraver, gained recognition for his religious works and portraits. He was born in Udine in 1520 and died in Venice in 1602.
During the 18th century, Luciano Comida, an Italian composer and violinist, made significant contributions to the development of the violin concerto. He was born in Naples in 1718 and died in Paris in 1793.
In the 20th century, Luciano Pavarotti, the renowned Italian operatic tenor, became one of the most celebrated opera singers of all time. He was born in Modena in 1935 and passed away in 2007, leaving behind a rich legacy in the world of classical music.
Throughout its history, the surname Luciano has been associated with various places, such as the town of Luciano in the province of Salerno, Italy, and the Luciano River in the region of Calabria, Italy. These place names may have contributed to the spread and popularity of the surname in different regions of Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luciano
Among Census respondents with the surname Luciano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 55.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Luciano 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 Luciano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino55.7% · 5,543
- White38.1% · 3,793
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 356
- Two or more races1.4% · 137
- Black or African American1.2% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luciano
Luciano 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
#3,486
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,247
+1,769 bearers (+20.9%)
Per 100,000 3.47
Rank movement Up 362 places
2020
#3,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,955
-292 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 3.33
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,848 | 8,478 | 3.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,486 | 10,247 | 3.47 | +1,769 bearers (+20.9%) | Up 362 places |
| 2020 | #3,496 | 9,955 | 3.33 | -292 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 10 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 Luciano 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 | #3,486 | #3,496 | -0.3% |
| Count | 10,247 | 9,955 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.47 | 3.33 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luciano bearers went from 10,247 to 9,955 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,486 to #3,496.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Luciano
FAQ
Luciano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luciano?
Name Census estimates that about 11,416 living Americans carry the surname Luciano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,024 residents.
How common is Luciano?
Luciano ranks #3,496 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,955 people with the surname Luciano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,416), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Luciano.
Has Luciano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luciano went from 10,247 recorded bearers to 9,955. That is a decrease of 292 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,486 to #3,496.
What does the Census say about the background of Luciano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luciano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 55.7%. The next largest groups are White (38.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). 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 Luciano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.7% (5,543 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luciano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (55.7%), White (38.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). 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 Luciano (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 Luciano mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin name Lucianus, meaning "light" or "illumination." 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 Luciano (3.33 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 are called Luciano?
If you just want to know how common the surname Luciano is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.