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

Casto, 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 Casto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Casto in America

Casto is the 4293rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Casto surname appeared 8,284 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Casto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Casto 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 Casto

The surname "CASTO" is of Spanish origin, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the late 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the Latin word "castus," meaning "pure" or "chaste." This name was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone who was perceived as morally upright or virtuous.

One of the earliest documented mentions of the Casto surname can be found in the records of the Spanish Inquisition from the late 15th century. These records refer to individuals with this surname who were persecuted or questioned by the Inquisition during that turbulent period in Spanish history.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Casto name appeared in various Spanish colonial records, particularly in documents related to the settlement of the Americas. Notable individuals from this era include Juan Casto, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés during the conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s, and María Casto, a settler in the Spanish colony of Havana, Cuba, in the late 1600s.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Casto surname spread to other parts of the world, including the Philippines, where it is still relatively common today. One notable Filipino with this surname was Manuel Casto (1892-1976), a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives in the early 20th century.

In the United States, the Casto surname can be traced back to Spanish and Mexican immigrants who arrived in the Southwest and California regions during the 19th century. One notable American with this surname was Roberto Casto (1921-2005), a writer and activist who played a significant role in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Another individual of historical significance with the Casto surname was Tomás Casto (1856-1923), a Spanish composer and conductor who was renowned for his zarzuelas (Spanish operettas) and contributed greatly to the development of Spanish musical theater.

While the Casto surname may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it has since become a well-established and widely dispersed surname, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries and regions with historical ties to the Spanish Empire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Casto

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

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 Casto 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 Casto 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 Casto was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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