2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Careri
An Italian surname derived from the Italian word "carriera" meaning road or path, possibly indicating origins near a major road or trade route.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Careri. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Careri 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Careri in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Careri, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Careri
The surname Careri has its origins in the beautiful Mediterranean country of Italy. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, possibly as early as the 11th or 12th century, in the southern regions of Calabria and Sicily.
Careri is thought to be derived from the Italian word "carriera," which means "career" or "path." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a well-traveled road or path, or perhaps even a person whose occupation involved travel or transportation along such routes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Careri can be found in the Catalogus Baronum, a detailed census commissioned by King Roger II of Sicily in the 12th century. This document lists several individuals with the surname Careri, indicating that the name was already established in that region by that time.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the Careri name was Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri, a renowned Italian traveler and writer who lived from 1651 to 1725. He is best known for his book "Giro del Mondo" (Tour of the World), which documented his extensive travels around the globe.
Another prominent individual with the surname Careri was Gaspare Careri, a 16th-century Italian architect and military engineer. He was responsible for designing and fortifying several important structures in Naples and its surrounding areas.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe Careri, an Italian politician and lawyer, made his mark by serving as a member of the Italian Parliament and advocating for the unification of Italy.
The name Careri has also been associated with various place names throughout Italy. For instance, there is a small town called Careri located in the province of Reggio Calabria, which may have influenced or been influenced by the surname itself.
Throughout history, the Careri surname has been spelled in various ways, including Carreri, Carrera, and Carriera, reflecting the fluidity and regional variations in Italian naming conventions over time.
While the name Careri may not be as widely known as some other Italian surnames, it has a rich history that spans centuries and is deeply rooted in the cultural and geographical landscape of southern Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Careri
Among Census respondents with the surname Careri, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Careri 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 Careri surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino18.5% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Careri
Careri 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+10 bearers (+9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 529 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-12 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,707 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.1%) | Up 529 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 11,707 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 Careri 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 | #139,228 | #150,935 | -8.4% |
| Count | 120 | 108 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Careri bearers went from 120 to 108 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 11,707 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #150,935.
FAQ
Careri surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Careri?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Careri. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Careri?
Careri ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Careri. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Careri.
Has Careri become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Careri went from 120 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Careri?
Among Census respondents with the surname Careri, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Careri in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Careri appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Hispanic (18.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Careri (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 Careri mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Italian word "carriera" meaning road or path, possibly indicating origins near a major road or trade route. 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 Careri (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 Americans have the surname Careri?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.