2000
#10,670
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,752
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Dipaolo
From the Italian surname meaning "of Paul" or "son of Paul," referring to the apostle Saint Paul.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,952 Americans carry the last name Dipaolo. That puts it at #11,656 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,109 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dipaolo 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
3.0K
1 in 116,109
Census rank
#11,656
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,574 bearers of the surname Dipaolo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11656th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dipaolo, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dipaolo
The surname DiPaolo has its origins in Italy, dating back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name, derived from the given name Paolo, which is the Italian form of the Latin name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble."
The earliest records of the name DiPaolo can be found in various regions of Italy, including Sicily, Campania, and Lazio. In these areas, the name was often associated with families engaged in various trades and professions, such as merchants, artisans, and landowners.
One of the earliest known references to the name DiPaolo can be found in a document from the 13th century, which mentions a merchant named Giovanni DiPaolo who was involved in trade between Sicily and the Italian mainland. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time and may have been associated with individuals engaged in commercial activities.
The name DiPaolo has also been recorded in various historical documents throughout the centuries, including tax records, property deeds, and legal documents. For example, in the 15th century, there is a record of a nobleman named Gian Paolo DiPaolo who owned land in the region of Campania.
Several notable individuals have borne the surname DiPaolo throughout history. One of the earliest recorded figures was Sebastiano DiPaolo, a Renaissance painter born in Naples in the early 16th century, known for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches in southern Italy. Another prominent figure was Girolamo DiPaolo, a 17th-century architect and engineer from Sicily, who designed several notable buildings and fortifications in Palermo and other cities.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe DiPaolo was a renowned operatic tenor from Naples, who performed in many of the major opera houses of Europe and gained international acclaim for his interpretations of roles in operas by composers such as Verdi and Donizetti.
In the field of literature, Vincenzo DiPaolo was a 20th-century Italian writer and poet, born in Campania in 1908, whose works explored themes of identity, memory, and the human condition. He was awarded several prestigious literary prizes in Italy during his lifetime.
Another noteworthy figure was Antonio DiPaolo, a prominent Italian-American businessman and philanthropist, born in 1879 in Sicily, who immigrated to the United States and became a successful entrepreneur in the early 20th century, contributing significantly to various charitable causes and organizations.
While the surname DiPaolo has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange, with families bearing this name now found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dipaolo
Among Census respondents with the surname Dipaolo, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Dipaolo 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 Dipaolo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,338
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 169
- Two or more races1.6% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dipaolo
Dipaolo 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
#11,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,794
+42 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 632 places
2020
#11,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,574
-220 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 354 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,670 | 2,752 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,302 | 2,794 | 0.95 | +42 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 632 places |
| 2020 | #11,656 | 2,574 | 0.86 | -220 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 354 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 Dipaolo 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 | #11,302 | #11,656 | -3.1% |
| Count | 2,794 | 2,574 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.86 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dipaolo bearers went from 2,794 to 2,574 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 354 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,302 to #11,656.
FAQ
Dipaolo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dipaolo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,952 living Americans carry the surname Dipaolo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,109 residents.
How common is Dipaolo?
Dipaolo ranks #11,656 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,574 people with the surname Dipaolo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,952), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Dipaolo.
Has Dipaolo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dipaolo went from 2,794 recorded bearers to 2,574. That is a decrease of 220 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,302 to #11,656.
What does the Census say about the background of Dipaolo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dipaolo, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Dipaolo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,338 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dipaolo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (6.6%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Dipaolo (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 Dipaolo mean?
From the Italian surname meaning "of Paul" or "son of Paul," referring to the apostle Saint Paul. 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 Dipaolo (0.86 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 Dipaolo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.