2000
#52,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 371
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Turturro
An Italian surname derived from the Latin name Turtur, meaning "turtle dove".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 447 Americans carry the last name Turturro. That puts it at #56,551 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 766,788 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Turturro 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
447
1 in 766,788
Census rank
#56,551
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
390
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 390 bearers of the surname Turturro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 56551st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Turturro, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Turturro
The surname Turturro is of Italian origin, specifically from the southern regions of Campania and Calabria. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "turtur," which means "turtle dove." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who kept or worked with these birds.
In the 14th century, variations of the name, such as "Turturelli" and "Turturillo," were found in historical records and documents from the town of Salerno, in the province of Campania. This indicates that the name had already established roots in this area during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Turturro can be found in a 16th-century manuscript from the town of Monteleone, in the province of Calabria. This document mentions a certain Girolamo Turturro, who was a landowner and prominent figure in the local community.
In the 17th century, the name appears in several parish records and birth registers from the town of Lamezia Terme, also in Calabria. One notable individual from this time period was Vincenzo Turturro, a renowned artist and painter who was born in Lamezia Terme in 1623 and died in 1698.
Another notable bearer of the Turturro surname was Giuseppe Turturro, a military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Cosenza, Calabria, in 1786 and participated in several battles against the Austrian Empire before his death in 1848.
In the late 19th century, the Turturro family became associated with the town of Muro Lucano, in the province of Potenza, Basilicata. One of the most prominent figures from this branch of the family was Antonio Turturro, a politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Italian Parliament from 1892 to 1909.
As the Turturro surname spread across Italy and eventually to other parts of the world, it remained closely tied to its southern Italian roots. While the name has evolved slightly over the centuries, its origins can still be traced back to the Latin word "turtur" and the turtle dove symbolism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Turturro
Among Census respondents with the surname Turturro, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Turturro 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 Turturro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 347
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 25
- Two or more races3.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Turturro
Turturro 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
#54,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 382
+11 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 1,555 places
2020
#56,551
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 390
+8 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 2,496 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #52,500 | 371 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #54,055 | 382 | 0.13 | +11 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 1,555 places |
| 2020 | #56,551 | 390 | 0.13 | +8 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 2,496 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 Turturro 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 | #54,055 | #56,551 | -4.6% |
| Count | 382 | 390 | 2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Turturro bearers went from 382 to 390 (+2.1% change). The surname moved down 2,496 positions in the national ranking, going from #54,055 to #56,551.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Turturro
FAQ
Turturro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Turturro?
Name Census estimates that about 447 living Americans carry the surname Turturro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 766,788 residents.
How common is Turturro?
Turturro ranks #56,551 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.13 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 390 people with the surname Turturro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (447), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.13 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 Turturro.
Has Turturro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Turturro went from 382 recorded bearers to 390. That is an increase of 8 (+2.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #54,055 to #56,551.
What does the Census say about the background of Turturro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Turturro, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Turturro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (347 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Turturro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (6.4%), Two or More Races (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 Turturro (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 Turturro mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin name Turtur, meaning "turtle dove". 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 Turturro (0.13 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 Turturro?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Turturro at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.