2000
#29,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 754
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.28
Very Rare Last name
Contos
A surname of Portuguese origin, possibly derived from the word "contos" meaning stories or tales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 897 Americans carry the last name Contos. That puts it at #31,685 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 382,112 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Contos 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.
Bearers in the US
897
1 in 382,112
Census rank
#31,685
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
782
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 782 bearers of the surname Contos in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31685th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Contos, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Contos
The surname Contos is of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word "kontos" meaning "short" or "small." It is believed to have first emerged as a descriptive surname during the Byzantine period in the 9th to 15th centuries, likely referring to a person of short stature or height.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Venetian archives from the 13th century, where a merchant named Nikolaos Kontos is mentioned in a trade document from 1276. This suggests that the surname was in use among Greek communities in the Venetian-controlled areas of the Mediterranean region during that time.
In the 14th century, a Greek scholar and theologian named Georgios Kontos was known for his work in translating ancient Greek texts into Latin. He was born in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) around 1320 and lived until the late 1390s.
During the Ottoman period, the surname Contos continued to be used by Greeks living in various regions of the Ottoman Empire. One notable figure was Ioannis Contos, a Greek merchant and diplomat who lived in the city of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey) in the late 16th century.
As Greeks began to migrate to other parts of the world, the surname Contos spread to various countries. In the 19th century, a Greek immigrant named Petros Contos settled in Alexandria, Egypt, where he established a successful trading business. His descendants continued to use the surname in Egypt and other parts of the Mediterranean region.
Another individual of note was Konstantinos Contos, a Greek revolutionary who fought against Ottoman rule during the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s. He was born in the village of Kalavryta in the Peloponnese region of Greece in 1786 and died in 1862.
Over time, the surname Contos has been subject to various spellings and variations, such as Konthos, Kondos, and Kondis, reflecting regional linguistic differences and transliterations from the Greek alphabet to other writing systems.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Contos
Among Census respondents with the surname Contos, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Contos 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 Contos surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 706
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 39
- Two or more races1.9% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 12
- Black or African American1.3% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Contos
Contos 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
#35,294
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 638
-116 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 5,778 places
2020
#31,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 782
+144 bearers (+22.6%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Up 3,609 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #29,516 | 754 | 0.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #35,294 | 638 | 0.22 | -116 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 5,778 places |
| 2020 | #31,685 | 782 | 0.26 | +144 bearers (+22.6%) | Up 3,609 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 Contos 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 | #35,294 | #31,685 | 10.2% |
| Count | 638 | 782 | 22.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.26 | 18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Contos bearers went from 638 to 782 (+22.6% change). The surname moved up 3,609 positions in the national ranking, going from #35,294 to #31,685.
FAQ
Contos surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Contos?
Name Census estimates that about 897 living Americans carry the surname Contos. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 382,112 residents.
How common is Contos?
Contos ranks #31,685 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 782 people with the surname Contos. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (897), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Contos.
Has Contos become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Contos went from 638 recorded bearers to 782. That is an increase of 144 (+22.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #35,294 to #31,685.
What does the Census say about the background of Contos?
Among Census respondents with the surname Contos, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Contos in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (706 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Contos appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Contos (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 Contos mean?
A surname of Portuguese origin, possibly derived from the word "contos" meaning stories or tales. 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 Contos (0.26 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 many people have the surname Contos?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.