2000
#6,308
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,972
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.84
Rare Last name
Colombo
A surname of Italian origin referring to a person from Colombia or a dove keeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,431 Americans carry the last name Colombo. That puts it at #6,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,111 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Colombo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Colombo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 63,111
Census rank
#6,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,736 bearers of the surname Colombo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Colombo, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Colombo
Among Census respondents with the surname Colombo, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Colombo 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 Colombo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 4,074
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 482
- Two or more races2.3% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 36
- Black or African American0.6% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Colombo
Colombo 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
#6,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,205
+233 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.76
Rank movement Down 208 places
2020
#6,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,736
-469 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.58
Rank movement Down 319 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,308 | 4,972 | 1.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,516 | 5,205 | 1.76 | +233 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 208 places |
| 2020 | #6,835 | 4,736 | 1.58 | -469 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 319 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 Colombo 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 | #6,516 | #6,835 | -4.9% |
| Count | 5,205 | 4,736 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.76 | 1.58 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Colombo bearers went from 5,205 to 4,736 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 319 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,516 to #6,835.
FAQ
Colombo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Colombo?
Name Census estimates that about 5,431 living Americans carry the surname Colombo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,111 residents.
How common is Colombo?
Colombo ranks #6,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,736 people with the surname Colombo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,431), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Colombo.
Has Colombo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Colombo went from 5,205 recorded bearers to 4,736. That is a decrease of 469 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,516 to #6,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Colombo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Colombo, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Colombo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (4,074 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Colombo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (10.2%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Colombo (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 Colombo mean?
A surname of Italian origin referring to a person from Colombia or a dove keeper. 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 Colombo (1.58 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 common is the surname Colombo?
You can see how many people have the last name Colombo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.