The Fontana surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,685 people carried this name — #4,615 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,300 people counted. That is up 2% from 7,525 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Fontana surname
From Vulgar Latin fontana.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Fontana» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 11,472 people named Fontana live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
2,410 people named Fontana live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Ticino.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,461 people named Fontana.
523 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 72 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 199 people named Fontana live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
46 people named Fontana is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Fontana in American newspapers,
1895.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,402 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Fontana,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Benedikt Fontana 1450–1499 · military personnel -
Niccolò Tartaglia 1499–1557 · teacher -
Prospero Fontana 1512–1597 · painter -
Domenico Fontana 1543–1607 · architect -
Marco Publio Fontana 1548–1609 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 172 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Fontana.
- Fonrose 210 · U.S. census
- Fons 513 · U.S. census
- Fonseca 25,863 · U.S. census
- Font 2,138 · U.S. census
- Fontaine 11,901 · U.S. census
- Fontan 659 · U.S. census
- Fontane 165 · U.S. census
- Fontanella 512 · U.S. census
- Fontanelli 114 · U.S. census
- Fontanini 190 · U.S. census
- Fonte 1,631 · U.S. census
- Fontenelle 359 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Fontana is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.