2000
#15,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,722
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Cairo
An English surname derived from the Egyptian capital city, possibly indicating a relation to a person or place associated with Cairo.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,101 Americans carry the last name Cairo. That puts it at #15,413 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,139 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cairo 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
2.1K
1 in 163,139
Census rank
#15,413
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,832 bearers of the surname Cairo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15413th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cairo, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.7%) and Black (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cairo
The surname Cairo originates from Italy and dates back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "Caius," which was a common Roman praenomen or personal name. The name may have been given to someone who lived near a prominent landmark or building in an area where Latin was spoken.
Cairo is believed to have been first recorded in the 11th century in the town of Salerno, located in the Campania region of southern Italy. It appeared in various Latin documents and manuscripts from that time, often spelled as "Cairus" or "Cayrus."
In the 13th century, the name Cairo was found in the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bari in Apulia, southern Italy. This suggests that the name had spread to other parts of the region by that time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Cairo was Niccolò Cairo, a nobleman and landowner who lived in the 14th century in the town of Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. He is mentioned in several local records from that period.
Another notable bearer of the name was Giovanni Cairo, a 15th-century Italian humanist and scholar who was born in Naples in 1440 and died in 1516. He was known for his work in philosophy and his translations of ancient Greek texts.
In the 16th century, the name Cairo appeared in the records of the Republic of Venice, where it was associated with several prominent families involved in maritime trade and commerce.
During the Renaissance period, the surname Cairo was also found in various Italian literary works and artworks. For example, a character named Cairo appears in the 16th-century play "La Mandragola" by the Italian playwright Niccolò Machiavelli.
Other notable individuals with the surname Cairo include the 17th-century Italian painter Cavaliere Giovanni Cairo, and the 18th-century Italian architect and engineer Giovanni Cairo, who designed several notable buildings in Naples.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cairo
Among Census respondents with the surname Cairo, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.7%) and Black (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Cairo 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 Cairo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.5% · 1,218
- Hispanic or Latino25.7% · 470
- Black or African American4.8% · 88
- Two or more races2.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cairo
Cairo 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
#16,555
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,734
+12 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Down 972 places
2020
#15,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,832
+98 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 1,142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,583 | 1,722 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,555 | 1,734 | 0.59 | +12 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 972 places |
| 2020 | #15,413 | 1,832 | 0.61 | +98 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 1,142 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 Cairo 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 | #16,555 | #15,413 | 6.9% |
| Count | 1,734 | 1,832 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.61 | 3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cairo bearers went from 1,734 to 1,832 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 1,142 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,555 to #15,413.
FAQ
Cairo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cairo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,101 living Americans carry the surname Cairo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,139 residents.
How common is Cairo?
Cairo ranks #15,413 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,832 people with the surname Cairo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,101), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Cairo.
Has Cairo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cairo went from 1,734 recorded bearers to 1,832. That is an increase of 98 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,555 to #15,413.
What does the Census say about the background of Cairo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cairo, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.7%) and Black (4.8%). 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 Cairo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (1,218 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cairo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.5%), Hispanic (25.7%), Black (4.8%). 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 Cairo (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 Cairo mean?
An English surname derived from the Egyptian capital city, possibly indicating a relation to a person or place associated with Cairo. 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 Cairo (0.61 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 Cairo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.