Bellissimo last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Bellissimo is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bellissimo.

Meaning of Bellissimo

An Italian surname meaning "very beautiful" or "most beautiful".

Bellissimo, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bellissimo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bellissimo in America

Bellissimo is the 37735th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bellissimo surname appeared 589 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bellissimo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bellissimo to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 37735 36761 2.61%
Count 589 573 2.75%
Proportion per 100k 0.20 0.21 -4.88%

The history of the last name Bellissimo

The surname Bellissimo is of Italian origin, with its roots dating back to the late medieval period in Italy. It is derived from the Italian word "bellissimo," which means "most beautiful" or "extremely beautiful." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname or a reference to a person's physical appearance or character traits.

The earliest known instances of the Bellissimo surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Lombardy, and Veneto. Historical records from this period often mention individuals with variations of the name, such as Belissimo, Bellissimi, and Bellissima.

In the 14th century, the Bellissimo surname appears in several notable Italian manuscripts and documents. For instance, a merchant named Giovanni Bellissimo is mentioned in a trade record from the city of Florence, dated 1367. Additionally, a notary public named Pietro Bellissimo is recorded in a legal document from Verona in 1382.

One of the earliest known individuals with the Bellissimo surname was Niccolò Bellissimo, a renowned Venetian poet and humanist who lived from 1427 to 1495. His literary works, including poetry and philosophical treatises, were widely acclaimed during the Italian Renaissance.

Another notable figure was Girolamo Bellissimo, a 16th-century Italian architect and sculptor from Padua. He was responsible for the design and construction of several notable buildings, including the Church of San Gaetano in Padua, completed in 1586.

In the 17th century, the Bellissimo surname gained prominence in the Kingdom of Naples, where a family of landowners and nobles carried the name. One of the most prominent members of this family was Vincenzo Bellissimo, a military commander who served under the Spanish Crown during the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628-1631).

During the 18th century, the Bellissimo surname spread throughout various regions of Italy, with notable individuals emerging in different fields. For example, Antonio Bellissimo was a respected painter from Naples who specialized in religious artwork and portraits, active in the mid-1700s.

The 19th century saw the rise of several prominent individuals with the Bellissimo surname, including Giuseppa Bellissimo, an Italian soprano and opera singer who gained acclaim for her performances in major opera houses across Europe in the 1820s and 1830s.

These examples illustrate the rich history and diverse backgrounds associated with the Italian surname Bellissimo, which has its origins rooted in the medieval era and has been carried by notable figures throughout the centuries in various fields, from literature and art to military and nobility.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bellissimo

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bellissimo.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bellissimo was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.62% 575
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 1.87% 11

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bellissimo has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.62% 97.73% -0.11%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.40% (S)%
Hispanic 1.87% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bellissimo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bellissimo, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Bellissimo last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 4, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/bellissimo-surname-popularity/.

"Bellissimo last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/bellissimo-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 May, 2025

Bellissimo last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/bellissimo-surname-popularity/.

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