2000
#10,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,872
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Anselmo
Of Germanic origin, derived from the elements "ans" meaning god and "helm" meaning protection or helmet.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,268 Americans carry the last name Anselmo. That puts it at #10,707 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,882 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Anselmo 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
3.3K
1 in 104,882
Census rank
#10,707
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,850 bearers of the surname Anselmo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10707th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Anselmo, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Anselmo
The surname Anselmo is of Italian origin, specifically from the regions of Lombardy and Tuscany. It derives from the Germanic personal name Anselm, which is comprised of the elements "ans" meaning "god" and "helm" meaning "protection" or "helmet". The name was introduced to Italy during the medieval period, likely by Germanic settlers or invaders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Anselmo can be found in the historic records of the city of Lucca, where a nobleman named Anselmo da Filicaia is mentioned in documents from the 11th century. The surname also appears in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of Lombard historical records, where an individual named Anselmo de Lomello is referenced in the year 1177.
In the 13th century, a prominent figure bearing the name Anselmo was Anselmo da Marano, a poet and philosopher from the city of Mantua. He was known for his works on ethics and metaphysics, and his poems often explored themes of love and spirituality.
During the Renaissance period, the Anselmo family produced several notable artists and scholars. One of the most famous was Antonio Anselmo, a Renaissance painter from Parma who lived from 1455 to 1524. His works can be found in various churches and museums throughout Italy, and he is particularly renowned for his religious frescoes and altarpieces.
Another significant figure was Girolamo Anselmo, a humanist scholar and diplomat who lived from 1492 to 1559. He served as a papal ambassador and was also known for his contributions to the study of classical literature and philosophy.
In the 18th century, Domenico Anselmo was a prominent architect from Naples who was responsible for designing several important buildings in the city, including the Church of San Francesco di Paola and the Palazzo Reale di Caserta.
Throughout its history, the surname Anselmo has also been associated with various place names and older spellings. For example, the town of Anselmo in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont, likely derived its name from a person with the surname Anselmo who may have been a landowner or influential figure in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anselmo
Among Census respondents with the surname Anselmo, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Anselmo 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 Anselmo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.6% · 2,012
- Hispanic or Latino18.5% · 526
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.2% · 233
- Two or more races1.6% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 18
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Anselmo
Anselmo 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
#9,839
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,289
+417 bearers (+14.5%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Up 443 places
2020
#10,707
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,850
-439 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 868 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,282 | 2,872 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,839 | 3,289 | 1.11 | +417 bearers (+14.5%) | Up 443 places |
| 2020 | #10,707 | 2,850 | 0.95 | -439 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 868 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 Anselmo 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 | #9,839 | #10,707 | -8.8% |
| Count | 3,289 | 2,850 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 0.95 | -14.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Anselmo bearers went from 3,289 to 2,850 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 868 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,839 to #10,707.
FAQ
Anselmo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Anselmo?
Name Census estimates that about 3,268 living Americans carry the surname Anselmo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,882 residents.
How common is Anselmo?
Anselmo ranks #10,707 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 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 2,850 people with the surname Anselmo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 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 Anselmo.
Has Anselmo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Anselmo went from 3,289 recorded bearers to 2,850. That is a decrease of 439 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,839 to #10,707.
What does the Census say about the background of Anselmo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Anselmo, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.2%). 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 Anselmo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (2,012 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Anselmo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.6%), Hispanic (18.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.2%). 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 Anselmo (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 Anselmo mean?
Of Germanic origin, derived from the elements "ans" meaning god and "helm" meaning protection or helmet. 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 Anselmo (0.95 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 are called Anselmo?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Anselmo is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.