2010
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Dillo
A dialectal surname derived from the Italian given name Dillo, a pet form of Diego.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Dillo. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dillo 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Dillo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dillo
The surname DILLO has its origins in Italy, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "dillo," which means "tell him" or "say it to him." This suggests that the name may have been given to a person who was known for being a messenger or a communicator.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DILLO can be found in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic work that documented the history and culture of the Aztec people. The codex mentions a man named Giovanni Dillo, who was a merchant and explorer from Venice.
In the 17th century, the name DILLO appeared in various records across different regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. One notable individual from this time period was Antonio Dillo (1610-1678), a renowned painter from Rome who specialized in religious and mythological themes.
During the 18th century, the name DILLO gained prominence in the city of Naples. Francesco Dillo (1732-1804) was a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the president of the Neapolitan Supreme Court. His son, Raffaele Dillo (1770-1842), followed in his footsteps and became a respected jurist and legal scholar.
In the 19th century, the DILLO surname spread beyond Italy to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable figure was Emilio Dillo (1845-1921), a Spanish military officer who fought in the Spanish-American War and later became a politician and diplomat.
Another significant individual with the DILLO surname was Giuseppe Dillo (1874-1945), an Italian engineer and industrialist who founded the Dillo Machinery Company, which produced agricultural equipment and machinery. His company played a crucial role in modernizing Italy's agricultural sector in the early 20th century.
While the DILLO surname is primarily found in Italy and other parts of Europe, there have been notable individuals with this surname in other parts of the world as well. For example, Juan Dillo (1912-1998) was a prominent Ecuadorian painter and sculptor known for his vibrant and expressive works that captured the essence of Ecuadorian culture and traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dillo
Among Census respondents with the surname Dillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Dillo 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 Dillo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.6% · 49
- Black or African American31.1% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 9
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dillo
Dillo appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-20 bearers (-16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 17,733 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -20 bearers (-16.3%) | Down 17,733 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 Dillo 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 | #136,449 | #154,182 | -13.0% |
| Count | 123 | 103 | -16.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dillo bearers went from 123 to 103 (-16.3% change). The surname moved down 17,733 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #154,182.
FAQ
Dillo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dillo?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Dillo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Dillo?
Dillo ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Dillo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Dillo.
Has Dillo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dillo went from 123 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 20 (-16.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Dillo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 47.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). 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 Dillo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.6% (49 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dillo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (47.6%), Black (31.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.7%). 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 Dillo (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 Dillo mean?
A dialectal surname derived from the Italian given name Dillo, a pet form of Diego. 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 Dillo (0.03 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 Dillo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.