Find out how popular the last name Caruso is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Caruso.

Caruso, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Caruso surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caruso in America

Caruso is the 1758th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caruso surname appeared 20,367 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Caruso.

We can also compare 2010 data for Caruso to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Caruso

The surname Caruso originates from Italy and is believed to have derived from the Medieval Italian personal name Caruso, which itself comes from the Late Latin name Carus, meaning "dear" or "beloved." The earliest recorded use of the name Caruso can be traced back to the 12th century in Sicily and the surrounding regions of southern Italy.

During the Middle Ages, many Italians adopted surnames derived from personal names, often in the form of diminutives or pet names. The suffix "-uso" was commonly added to create these diminutive forms, leading to surnames like Caruso.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Caruso appears in a 14th-century document from the city of Palermo, Sicily, which mentions a certain Nicolò Caruso. In the 15th century, records show the presence of the Caruso family in the town of Sorrento, near Naples.

Over the centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, including Carusio, Carusi, and Caruzo, reflecting regional dialects and local pronunciation patterns. However, the modern standardized form of Caruso became predominant.

Some notable individuals bearing the surname Caruso throughout history include:

1. Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), a legendary Italian operatic tenor widely considered one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
2. Giovanni Caruso (1551-1630), an Italian architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Naples and its surroundings.
3. Renato Caruso (1924-2012), an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his work in the Commedia all'Italiana genre.
4. Tiberio Caruso (1780-1855), an Italian painter and art teacher who contributed to the Neoclassical and Romantic movements.
5. Alfredo Caruso (1865-1948), an Italian mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the study of algebraic surfaces.

While the Caruso surname is most prevalent in southern Italy, particularly in the regions of Sicily, Campania, and Calabria, it has also spread to other parts of the country and beyond due to migration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caruso

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Caruso.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Caruso was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Caruso has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Caruso was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Caruso, please contact us.

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