2000
#8,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,496
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.30
Rare Last name
Adamo
An Italian surname derived from the biblical name Adam, meaning "man" or "of the red earth."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,149 Americans carry the last name Adamo. That puts it at #8,701 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,611 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Adamo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Adamo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 82,611
Census rank
#8,701
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,618 bearers of the surname Adamo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8701st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Adamo, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Adamo
The surname Adamo originated in Italy, tracing its roots back to the 13th century. It is derived from the medieval personal name "Adamo," which itself stems from the Latin name "Adamus," meaning "Son of Adam." The name Adam, in turn, is derived from the Hebrew word "adamah," meaning "earth" or "ground."
Adamo is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the region of Sicily, where it was likely adopted by descendants of a man named Adamo. The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in Sicilian records from the 13th and 14th centuries, with spellings such as "Adamus" and "Adamus."
One of the earliest documented bearers of the Adamo surname was Giovanni Adamo, a merchant from Palermo, Sicily, who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Antonio Adamo, a Sicilian philosopher and author who lived from 1530 to 1598.
The Adamo surname later spread beyond Sicily to other parts of Italy, including the regions of Calabria, Campania, and Lazio. In the 16th century, a branch of the Adamo family settled in the town of Montefiascone, in the province of Viterbo, Lazio. This town was once home to a renowned winemaker named Giovanni Adamo, who lived in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, the Adamo surname gained prominence in the Kingdom of Naples, where a family of nobles bearing the name held significant influence. One notable member was Domenico Adamo, a Neapolitan nobleman and statesman who lived from 1720 to 1798.
Another historically significant individual with the Adamo surname was Vincenzo Adamo, an Italian painter and engraver who was active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in Naples in 1770, Adamo was renowned for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting views of the Italian countryside.
As the Adamo surname spread throughout Italy over the centuries, it also found its way to other parts of the world through emigration. Today, the name can be found in various countries with significant Italian diaspora populations, such as the United States, Argentina, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adamo
Among Census respondents with the surname Adamo, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Adamo 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 Adamo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 3,212
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 204
- Two or more races2.6% · 94
- Black or African American2.0% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Adamo
Adamo 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
#8,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,647
+151 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 311 places
2020
#8,701
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,618
-29 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 270 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,660 | 3,496 | 1.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,971 | 3,647 | 1.24 | +151 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 311 places |
| 2020 | #8,701 | 3,618 | 1.21 | -29 bearers (-0.8%) | Up 270 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 Adamo 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 | #8,971 | #8,701 | 3.0% |
| Count | 3,647 | 3,618 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.21 | -2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Adamo bearers went from 3,647 to 3,618 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 270 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,971 to #8,701.
FAQ
Adamo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Adamo?
Name Census estimates that about 4,149 living Americans carry the surname Adamo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,611 residents.
How common is Adamo?
Adamo ranks #8,701 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,618 people with the surname Adamo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,149), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Adamo.
Has Adamo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Adamo went from 3,647 recorded bearers to 3,618. That is a decrease of 29 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,971 to #8,701.
What does the Census say about the background of Adamo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Adamo, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Adamo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (3,212 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Adamo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Adamo (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 Adamo mean?
An Italian surname derived from the biblical name Adam, meaning "man" or "of the red earth." 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 Adamo (1.21 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 share the surname Adamo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.