Italo
Of Italian origin meaning "from Italy" or "Italian".
Name Census estimates that about 366 living Americans carry the first name Italo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Italo today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Italo births was 1918 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Italo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
366
~ 1 in 936,487 Americans
Peak year
1918
31 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,971
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Italo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Italo from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 163 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Italo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Italo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Italo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Italos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Italo, while California, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Italo
The given name Italo originates from the Latin word "Italus", which itself is derived from the Greek word "Italos". This name is closely associated with the Italian peninsula and is believed to have its roots dating back to ancient times.
The earliest known use of the name can be traced back to the 8th century BC, when it was mentioned in the writings of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. It was used to refer to the inhabitants of the region known as Oenotria, which encompassed parts of modern-day southern Italy.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Italo was Italo Calvino, an Italian writer and philosopher who lived from 1923 to 1985. He is renowned for his innovative and imaginative works, such as the novels "Invisible Cities" and "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler".
Another prominent individual with this name was Italo Gariboldi, an Italian sculptor who lived from 1879 to 1953. He is best known for his monumental works, including the equestrian statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi in Rome.
In the realm of politics, Italo Balbo, an Italian Blackshirt leader and aviator, made significant contributions during the early 20th century. He lived from 1896 to 1940 and is remembered for his role in Mussolini's government and his pioneering long-distance flights.
Italo Svevo, whose real name was Aron Ettore Schmitz, was an Italian novelist and playwright born in 1861 and lived until 1928. He is considered a forerunner of the modernist movement in Italian literature and is best known for his novels "Zeno's Conscience" and "As a Man Grows Older".
Lastly, Italo Montemezzi, an Italian composer and conductor who lived from 1875 to 1952, is remembered for his operas, particularly "L'amore dei tre re" (The Love of Three Kings), which brought him international acclaim.
People
Italo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Italo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Italo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Italo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 366 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Italo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 936,487 US residents.
Is Italo a common name?
We classify Italo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 749 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Italo most popular?
The single biggest year for Italo was 1918, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Italo is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Italo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Italo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.