2000
#104,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 158
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Pavano
A surname derived from an Italian place name referring to someone from the town of Pavone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 189 Americans carry the last name Pavano. That puts it at #113,026 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,813,515 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pavano 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
189
1 in 1,813,515
Census rank
#113,026
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
165
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 165 bearers of the surname Pavano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 113026th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pavano, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pavano
The surname Pavano originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Campania. It is derived from the Italian word "pavano," which means "peacock." The name is believed to have originated in the medieval period, possibly as a nickname or occupational name for someone who raised or traded peacocks.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pavano can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of documents from the 11th to the 13th centuries in the city of Bari, Puglia. In this collection, there are references to individuals with the surname Pavano, indicating that the name was already in use during that time.
In the 14th century, the name Pavano appeared in various historical records in Naples and the surrounding areas. For example, a nobleman named Niccolò Pavano was mentioned in a document dated 1345, indicating his involvement in local politics and governance.
During the Renaissance period, the Pavano family gained prominence in the city of Naples. One notable member was Girolamo Pavano (1460-1535), a renowned humanist scholar and philosopher who authored several works on ethics and metaphysics.
In the 17th century, the Pavano family branched out to other regions of Italy. A notable figure from this period was Andrea Pavano (1610-1678), a painter from Genoa who specialized in religious and mythological subjects.
Another prominent individual with the surname Pavano was Giuseppe Pavano (1735-1808), a Neapolitan composer and music teacher who contributed to the development of the Neapolitan opera tradition.
Throughout history, the surname Pavano has also been associated with various place names, such as Pavano Grammichele, a town in the province of Catania, Sicily, and Pavano Canavese, a municipality in the province of Turin, Piedmont.
While the origin of the surname Pavano is rooted in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to immigration and diaspora. However, the historical records and notable figures mentioned above highlight the surname's rich Italian heritage and its connections to various regions and cultural achievements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pavano
Among Census respondents with the surname Pavano, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pavano 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 Pavano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 145
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 15
- Two or more races1.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pavano
Pavano 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
#105,600
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 169
+11 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 781 places
2020
#113,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 165
-4 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 7,426 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #104,819 | 158 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #105,600 | 169 | 0.06 | +11 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 781 places |
| 2020 | #113,026 | 165 | 0.06 | -4 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 7,426 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 Pavano 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 | #105,600 | #113,026 | -7.0% |
| Count | 169 | 165 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pavano bearers went from 169 to 165 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 7,426 positions in the national ranking, going from #105,600 to #113,026.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pavano
FAQ
Pavano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pavano?
Name Census estimates that about 189 living Americans carry the surname Pavano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,813,515 residents.
How common is Pavano?
Pavano ranks #113,026 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 165 people with the surname Pavano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (189), 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 Pavano.
Has Pavano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pavano went from 169 recorded bearers to 165. That is a decrease of 4 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #105,600 to #113,026.
What does the Census say about the background of Pavano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pavano, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Pavano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pavano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (9.1%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Pavano (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 Pavano mean?
A surname derived from an Italian place name referring to someone from the town of Pavone. 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 Pavano (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 have the last name Pavano?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Pavano at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.