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

Clemente, 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 Clemente surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Clemente in America

Clemente is the 3626th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Clemente surname appeared 9,797 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 Clemente.

We can also compare 2010 data for Clemente 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 Clemente

The surname Clemente is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name Clemens, which means "merciful" or "mild." It originated in Italy during the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Clemente can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Italy, such as Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Lombardy. It is believed that the name was initially associated with individuals who exhibited qualities of mercy or gentleness.

In the 14th century, records show the name Clemente appearing in the Venetian Republic, where it was adopted by families residing in cities like Venice and Padua. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Clementi" or "Clementini."

One notable historical figure with the surname Clemente was Muzio Clemente (1550-1612), an Italian philosopher and humanist from Bologna. He was renowned for his contributions to the fields of rhetoric and literature.

In the 16th century, the name Clemente gained prominence in Naples, where it was associated with several influential families. One such family was the Clemente di Montecorvino, who held significant political power in the Kingdom of Naples during the Spanish rule.

In the 18th century, Gian Carlo Clemente (1718-1789) was a prominent Italian architect from Turin. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings, including the Palazzo Chiablese and the Church of San Francesco da Paola.

During the 19th century, the surname Clemente spread to other parts of Europe and the Americas due to Italian immigration. One notable individual was Roberto Clemente (1934-1972), a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the first Latin American player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Other notable individuals with the surname Clemente include José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949), a Mexican social realist painter and muralist, and Jaime Clemente (1935-2011), a Spanish film director and screenwriter.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Clemente

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

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

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

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