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

Colombo, 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 Colombo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Colombo in America

Colombo is the 6516th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Colombo surname appeared 5,205 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Colombo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Colombo 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 Colombo

The surname Colombo is of Italian origin, derived from the word "colombo" which means "dove" in Italian. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, possibly as a nickname for someone who kept doves or had a gentle, peaceful demeanor like a dove.

The name is thought to have first appeared in the region of Lombardy, in northern Italy, where it was particularly common in the areas around Milan and Bergamo. However, it later spread to other parts of Italy, including the regions of Tuscany, Lazio, and Sicily.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Colombo can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of medieval documents from the Lombard period in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. Additionally, the name appeared in various medieval records and manuscripts from different Italian cities and regions.

In the 13th century, a notable figure with the surname Colombo was Cristoforo Colombo, better known as Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who is credited with the discovery of the Americas in 1492. Other famous individuals with the surname Colombo include Matteo Realdo Colombo (1516-1559), an Italian anatomist who made important contributions to the study of the human body, and Ferdinando Colombo (1488-1539), the son of Christopher Columbus who wrote a biography of his father.

Another noteworthy bearer of the Colombo name was Michele Colombo (1749-1838), an Italian architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in Milan, including the Palazzo delle Scienza e delle Arti and the Palazzo delle Nazioni.

In the 20th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the surname Colombo was Umberto Colombo (1927-2006), an Italian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy from 1980 to 1983.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Colombo

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

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

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

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