2000
#84,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 206
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Santostefano
From the Italian words "santo" meaning saint and "Stefano" meaning Stephen, denoting origin from a place named after St. Stephen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 300 Americans carry the last name Santostefano. That puts it at #78,629 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,142,514 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Santostefano 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
300
1 in 1,142,514
Census rank
#78,629
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
262
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 262 bearers of the surname Santostefano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 78629th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Santostefano, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Santostefano
The surname Santostefano has its roots in Italy, originating in the southern regions of the country during the medieval period. It is a combination of the Italian words "santo" meaning "saint" and "Stefano" which is the Italian form of the name Stephen. This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with a place or location dedicated to Saint Stephen.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in historical documents from the 13th century, where it appears as "de Sancto Stephano" in Latin texts. This spelling variation indicates that the name likely originated as a toponymic surname, denoting someone who hailed from a place named after Saint Stephen.
In the 14th century, the surname is documented in the form "Santostefano" in Sicilian records, suggesting that the name had become more firmly established in southern Italy, particularly in the region of Sicily. During this time, the name may have been associated with various localities named after Saint Stephen, such as the town of Santo Stefano di Camastra in the province of Messina.
Notable individuals bearing the Santostefano surname include Domenico Santostefano (1555-1636), an Italian painter and architect active in Sicily during the Baroque period. Another figure was Antonio Santostefano (1643-1705), a Sicilian lawyer and author who wrote extensively on legal matters.
In the 18th century, the name appears in historical records from Naples, where Gennaro Santostefano (1723-1797) was a prominent philosopher and theologian. He authored several works on metaphysics and moral philosophy.
Moving into the 19th century, Nicola Santostefano (1826-1891) was an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy.
One of the most notable bearers of the Santostefano surname was Vincenzo Santostefano (1837-1922), an Italian military officer and diplomat who played a significant role in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification. He served as the Italian ambassador to Turkey and was involved in the negotiations that led to the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Santostefano
Among Census respondents with the surname Santostefano, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Santostefano 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 Santostefano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 239
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 13
- Two or more races2.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Santostefano
Santostefano 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
#75,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 256
+50 bearers (+24.3%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Up 9,314 places
2020
#78,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 262
+6 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 3,312 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #84,631 | 206 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #75,317 | 256 | 0.09 | +50 bearers (+24.3%) | Up 9,314 places |
| 2020 | #78,629 | 262 | 0.09 | +6 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 3,312 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 Santostefano 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 | #75,317 | #78,629 | -4.4% |
| Count | 256 | 262 | 2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.09 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Santostefano bearers went from 256 to 262 (+2.3% change). The surname moved down 3,312 positions in the national ranking, going from #75,317 to #78,629.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Santostefano
FAQ
Santostefano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Santostefano?
Name Census estimates that about 300 living Americans carry the surname Santostefano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,142,514 residents.
How common is Santostefano?
Santostefano ranks #78,629 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 262 people with the surname Santostefano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (300), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Santostefano.
Has Santostefano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Santostefano went from 256 recorded bearers to 262. That is an increase of 6 (+2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #75,317 to #78,629.
What does the Census say about the background of Santostefano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Santostefano, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Santostefano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (239 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Santostefano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Santostefano (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 Santostefano mean?
From the Italian words "santo" meaning saint and "Stefano" meaning Stephen, denoting origin from a place named after St. Stephen. 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 Santostefano (0.09 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 Santostefano?
See how common the surname Santostefano is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.