2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bullo
A surname derived from an Italian word meaning "bullock" or "young bull".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 224 Americans carry the last name Bullo. That puts it at #99,304 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,530,153 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bullo 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
224
1 in 1,530,153
Census rank
#99,304
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
195
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 195 bearers of the surname Bullo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 99304th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bullo, the largest self-reported group is White at 42.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bullo
The surname BULLO is of Italian origin, first appearing in records from the region of Tuscany in the late 15th century. It is derived from the Italian word "bullo", meaning a seal or stamp, suggesting the name may have been given to someone who worked as a sealer or stamper of official documents.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BULLO is found in a 1492 registry of merchants in Florence, where a Giacomo BULLO is listed as a seller of wax seals and stamping equipment. This lends credence to the theory that the name originated as an occupational surname.
In the 16th century, the BULLO name spread to other parts of Italy, with records showing a Paolo BULLO being born in Naples around 1520. A notable bearer of the name from this period was Gian Battista BULLO (1525-1592), a renowned painter from Milan who specialized in religious frescoes.
By the 17th century, the BULLO surname had also made its way to Venice, where a family of that name owned a successful printing business. One of their descendants, Marco BULLO (1639-1712), became a respected scholar and authored several works on Venetian history.
In the late 18th century, a branch of the BULLO family settled in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Here, they adopted the variant spelling "Bullo", which is still used by some bearers of the name today. A prominent figure from this lineage was Giuseppe BULLO (1777-1843), a military officer who served under Napoleon Bonaparte.
Another notable BULLO was Cesare BULLO (1892-1968), an Italian sculptor and medallist who created several public monuments and worked on the designs for the Italian lira currency during the fascist era. His works can be found in museums and galleries across Italy.
Over the centuries, various BULLO families have also established themselves in other European countries, such as France, Spain, and Switzerland, though the name remains most prevalent in its homeland of Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bullo
Among Census respondents with the surname Bullo, the largest self-reported group is White at 42.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bullo 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 Bullo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.6% · 83
- Black or African American31.8% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.9% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 12
- Two or more races4.6% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bullo
Bullo 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
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
+26 bearers (+22.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 12,773 places
2020
#99,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 195
+55 bearers (+39.3%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 23,760 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | +26 bearers (+22.8%) | Up 12,773 places |
| 2020 | #99,304 | 195 | 0.07 | +55 bearers (+39.3%) | Up 23,760 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 Bullo 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 | #123,064 | #99,304 | 19.3% |
| Count | 140 | 195 | 39.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.07 | 30.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bullo bearers went from 140 to 195 (+39.3% change). The surname moved up 23,760 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #99,304.
FAQ
Bullo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bullo?
Name Census estimates that about 224 living Americans carry the surname Bullo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,530,153 residents.
How common is Bullo?
Bullo ranks #99,304 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 195 people with the surname Bullo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (224), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Bullo.
Has Bullo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bullo went from 140 recorded bearers to 195. That is an increase of 55 (+39.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #123,064 to #99,304.
What does the Census say about the background of Bullo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bullo, the largest self-reported group is White at 42.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%). 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 Bullo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.6% (83 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bullo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (42.6%), Black (31.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%). 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 Bullo (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 Bullo mean?
A surname derived from an Italian word meaning "bullock" or "young bull". 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 Bullo (0.07 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 Bullo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.