2000
#6,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,218
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.93
Rare Last name
Calvo
A Spanish and Italian surname referring to a bald person or someone with very short hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,711 Americans carry the last name Calvo. That puts it at #5,055 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,450 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calvo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Calvo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.7K
1 in 44,450
Census rank
#5,055
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,724 bearers of the surname Calvo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5055th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calvo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calvo
The surname Calvo originates from Spain and Italy, deriving from the Late Latin word "calvus" meaning bald or hairless. It likely originated as a nickname for someone who was bald or had thinning hair.
The earliest recorded use of the surname Calvo dates back to the 10th century in various regions of Spain and Italy. Some of the earliest records include mentions in the Catalan grand cartulary of the 11th century and the Codice diplomatico della Lombardia medievale from the late 10th century in Italy.
In Spain, the surname Calvo can be traced back to the medieval Kingdom of Aragon, where it appeared in records from places like Zaragoza and Teruel. It was also present in other regions like Andalusia and Castile during this time period. One notable early bearer of the name was Pedro Calvo, a 13th-century nobleman from Aragon who served as a royal adviser to King James I of Aragon.
In Italy, the surname Calvo was particularly prominent in the regions of Lombardy and Piedmont. An early recorded instance is that of Guglielmo Calvo, a 12th-century nobleman from Piedmont who served as a diplomat for the Holy Roman Empire.
Other notable historical figures with the surname Calvo include Francisco Calvo, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. Another prominent individual was Andrea Calvo, a 17th-century Italian architect and sculptor who designed several churches and palaces in Turin and Genoa.
The surname Calvo has also been present in various other European countries over the centuries, likely due to migration and intermarriage. For example, there are records of the name in France dating back to the 13th century, with individuals like Étienne Calvo, a 14th-century merchant from Marseille.
While the surname Calvo originated as a nickname for someone with thinning hair or baldness, it eventually became a hereditary surname passed down through generations in many families across Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calvo
Among Census respondents with the surname Calvo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Calvo 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 Calvo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino75.5% · 5,076
- White16.5% · 1,110
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 398
- Two or more races1.5% · 104
- Black or African American0.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calvo
Calvo 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
#5,086
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,883
+1,665 bearers (+31.9%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Up 979 places
2020
#5,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,724
-159 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 2.25
Rank movement Up 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,065 | 5,218 | 1.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,086 | 6,883 | 2.33 | +1,665 bearers (+31.9%) | Up 979 places |
| 2020 | #5,055 | 6,724 | 2.25 | -159 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 31 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 Calvo 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 | #5,086 | #5,055 | 0.6% |
| Count | 6,883 | 6,724 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.33 | 2.25 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calvo bearers went from 6,883 to 6,724 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,086 to #5,055.
FAQ
Calvo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calvo?
Name Census estimates that about 7,711 living Americans carry the surname Calvo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,450 residents.
How common is Calvo?
Calvo ranks #5,055 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,724 people with the surname Calvo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,711), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Calvo.
Has Calvo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calvo went from 6,883 recorded bearers to 6,724. That is a decrease of 159 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,086 to #5,055.
What does the Census say about the background of Calvo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calvo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.5%. The next largest groups are White (16.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Calvo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (5,076 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calvo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (75.5%), White (16.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%). 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 Calvo (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 Calvo mean?
A Spanish and Italian surname referring to a bald person or someone with very short hair. 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 Calvo (2.25 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 Calvo?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Calvo at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.