2000
#5,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,889
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.18
Rare Last name
Decarlo
An Italian surname derived from the given name Carlo, meaning "free man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,174 Americans carry the last name Decarlo. That puts it at #6,105 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,516 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Decarlo 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
6.2K
1 in 55,516
Census rank
#6,105
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,384 bearers of the surname Decarlo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6105th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Decarlo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Decarlo
The surname DeCarlo is of Italian origin, with roots tracing back to the 14th century in the region of Campania. It is derived from the Italian words "de" meaning "from" and "Carlo," which is the Italian form of the name Charles. This suggests that the surname was initially given to individuals who hailed from a location associated with someone named Carlo.
One of the earliest known records of the name DeCarlo can be found in a document from 1387 in the city of Naples, where a certain Giovanni DeCarlo is mentioned as a landowner. This provides evidence of the surname's existence in the late medieval period in southern Italy.
During the Renaissance era, the name DeCarlo appeared in various historical manuscripts and records across Italy. Notably, in 1512, a Florentine artist named Girolamo DeCarlo was commissioned to create frescoes for the Church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence.
As time progressed, the DeCarlo surname spread to other regions of Italy, and its spelling variations emerged, such as DeCarli and DeCarolo. In the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing this surname was Giuseppe DeCarlo, a composer and musician from Naples who lived from 1698 to 1782.
In the 19th century, the DeCarlo name gained further recognition with the birth of Luigi DeCarlo in 1835, an Italian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies in the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.
Another notable individual with this surname was Aldo DeCarlo, an Italian-American artist and illustrator who was born in 1904 and is best known for creating the iconic character Josie and the Pussycats for Archie Comics.
Throughout history, other individuals with the DeCarlo surname have made their mark in various fields, such as Elia DeCarlo, an Italian-American mobster who lived from 1904 to 1961, and Vito DeCarlo, an Italian-American professional wrestler born in 1928.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Decarlo
Among Census respondents with the surname Decarlo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Decarlo 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 Decarlo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 4,792
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 342
- Two or more races2.5% · 136
- Black or African American1.0% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Decarlo
Decarlo 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
#5,860
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,889
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 427 places
2020
#6,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,384
-505 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Down 245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,433 | 5,889 | 2.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,860 | 5,889 | 2.00 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 427 places |
| 2020 | #6,105 | 5,384 | 1.80 | -505 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 245 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 Decarlo 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 | #5,860 | #6,105 | -4.2% |
| Count | 5,889 | 5,384 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.00 | 1.80 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Decarlo bearers went from 5,889 to 5,384 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 245 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,860 to #6,105.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Decarlo
FAQ
Decarlo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Decarlo?
Name Census estimates that about 6,174 living Americans carry the surname Decarlo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,516 residents.
How common is Decarlo?
Decarlo ranks #6,105 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.80 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 5,384 people with the surname Decarlo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,174), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.80 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 Decarlo.
Has Decarlo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Decarlo went from 5,889 recorded bearers to 5,384. That is a decrease of 505 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,860 to #6,105.
What does the Census say about the background of Decarlo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Decarlo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Decarlo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (4,792 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Decarlo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (6.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Decarlo (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 Decarlo mean?
An Italian surname derived from the given name Carlo, meaning "free man." 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 Decarlo (1.80 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 Decarlo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.