2000
#12,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,237
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Cuneo
An Italian toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Cuneo in Piedmont, Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,511 Americans carry the last name Cuneo. That puts it at #13,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,501 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cuneo 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
2.5K
1 in 136,501
Census rank
#13,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,190 bearers of the surname Cuneo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuneo, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cuneo
The surname Cuneo is of Italian origin, deriving from the city of Cuneo in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Its roots can be traced back to the Latin word "cuneus," meaning "wedge" or "cone," suggesting a possible connection to a geographical feature or a location with a distinctive wedge-shaped or conical form.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Cuneo date back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various medieval documents and records from the Piedmont area. The city of Cuneo itself was founded in the 12th century and served as an important strategic location during the conflicts between the Angevin and Aragonese dynasties in the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the notable historical figures bearing the surname Cuneo was Girolamo Cuneo (1562-1625), an Italian architect and military engineer who worked on several fortifications and defense structures in the Duchy of Savoy. Another was Giovanni Battista Cuneo (1556-1610), an Italian painter known for his religious works and his contributions to the Baroque style.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe Cuneo (1798-1856) was an Italian patriot and revolutionary who played a significant role in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification. He was a member of the secret society Carboneria and participated in uprisings against the Austrian rule in Italy.
Moving into the 20th century, Antonio Cuneo (1887-1942) was an Italian-American architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Central Synagogue and the Staten Island Courthouse.
The surname Cuneo has also been associated with various place names and locations, such as the town of Cuneo Monferrato in the province of Alessandria, and the village of Cuneo in the province of Salerno, both in Italy. These place names likely originated from the same Latin root as the surname, reflecting the geographical or topographical features of the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cuneo
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuneo, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cuneo 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 Cuneo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 1,845
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 224
- Two or more races2.9% · 64
- Black or African American1.7% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cuneo
Cuneo 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
#13,517
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,244
+7 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 835 places
2020
#13,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,190
-54 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 197 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,682 | 2,237 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,517 | 2,244 | 0.76 | +7 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 835 places |
| 2020 | #13,320 | 2,190 | 0.73 | -54 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 197 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 Cuneo 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 | #13,517 | #13,320 | 1.5% |
| Count | 2,244 | 2,190 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.73 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cuneo bearers went from 2,244 to 2,190 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 197 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,517 to #13,320.
FAQ
Cuneo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cuneo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,511 living Americans carry the surname Cuneo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,501 residents.
How common is Cuneo?
Cuneo ranks #13,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,190 people with the surname Cuneo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,511), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cuneo.
Has Cuneo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cuneo went from 2,244 recorded bearers to 2,190. That is a decrease of 54 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,517 to #13,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Cuneo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuneo, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Cuneo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (1,845 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cuneo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Hispanic (10.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Cuneo (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 Cuneo mean?
An Italian toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Cuneo in Piedmont, Italy. 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 Cuneo (0.73 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 share the surname Cuneo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.