The Garofalo surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,152 people carried this name — #6,571 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,100 people counted. That is up 5% from 4,927 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Garofalo surname
From Italian garofalo, garofolo, a regional variant of garofano (“carnation, clove pink”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Garofalo» (Italian), 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 1,506 people named Garofalo 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
262 people named Garofalo live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 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 218 people named Garofalo.
Most of them — 138 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 18 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 25 people named Garofalo 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.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Garofalo in American newspapers,
1897–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 956 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Garofalo,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Raffaele Garofalo 1851–1934 · politician -
Carlo Giorgio Garofalo 1886–1962 · composer -
Anna Garofalo 1903–1965 · journalist -
Federico Garofalo 1924–2000 · composer -
Vincenzo Garofalo 1958– · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 96 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Garofalo.
- Garlin 412 · U.S. census
- Garmendia 582 · U.S. census
- Garneau 1,350 · U.S. census
- Garnet 278 · U.S. census
- Garnier 934 · U.S. census
- Garo 287 · U.S. census
- Garon 1,498 · U.S. census
- Garot 124 · U.S. census
- Garra 273 · U.S. census
- Garre 137 · U.S. census
- Garreau 240 · U.S. census
- Garrido 8,605 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Garofalo 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.