2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Belviso
An Italian surname derived from "bel viso" meaning "beautiful face" or "handsome".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Belviso. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Belviso 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Belviso in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Belviso, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Belviso
The surname Belviso is of Italian origin, specifically from the region of Campania. It is believed to have originated in the 13th or 14th century, derived from the Italian words "bel" meaning "beautiful" and "viso" meaning "face" or "visage." This suggests that the name was initially a descriptive nickname or an occupational surname given to individuals with a particularly attractive or notable appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Belviso can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval manuscripts from the Benedictine monastery in Cava de' Tirreni, near Salerno. The name appears in a document dated around 1275, referring to a certain Matteo Belviso, a landowner in the area.
During the Renaissance period, the Belviso family gained prominence in Naples and its surrounding regions. Notable individuals from this time include Giovanni Belviso (1510-1587), a renowned jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Sacro Regio Consiglio, the highest court in the Kingdom of Naples. Another prominent figure was Bartolomeo Belviso (1555-1629), a painter and architect who contributed to the design of several churches and palaces in Naples.
In the 17th century, the Belviso family expanded their influence to other parts of Italy. Pietro Belviso (1628-1701) was a Baroque composer and organist who worked in Venice and Rome, contributing to the development of the Italian baroque musical style. Girolamo Belviso (1665-1732) was a noted philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Padua and published numerous works on metaphysics and natural philosophy.
Moving into the 19th century, Giuseppe Belviso (1805-1879) was a prominent Italian politician and statesman who served as a deputy in the Sardinian Parliament and later in the Italian Parliament after the unification of Italy. He played a significant role in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian independence and unification.
It is worth noting that the name Belviso has also been associated with various place names and locations in Italy, such as Belviso Biellese, a town in the province of Biella, and Belviso Bresciano, a municipality in the province of Brescia. These place names may have contributed to the spread and variation of the surname over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Belviso
Among Census respondents with the surname Belviso, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Belviso 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 Belviso surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Belviso
Belviso 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+14 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,427 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-10 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,439 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 3,427 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 11,439 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 Belviso 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 | #130,610 | #142,049 | -8.8% |
| Count | 130 | 120 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Belviso bearers went from 130 to 120 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 11,439 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #142,049.
FAQ
Belviso surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Belviso?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Belviso. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Belviso?
Belviso ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Belviso. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Belviso.
Has Belviso become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Belviso went from 130 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Belviso?
Among Census respondents with the surname Belviso, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Belviso in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Belviso appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Belviso (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 Belviso mean?
An Italian surname derived from "bel viso" meaning "beautiful face" or "handsome". 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 Belviso (0.04 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 Belviso?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.