2000
#9,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,018
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Disalvo
An Italian occupational surname referring to a person who removes salt from something, such as meat or fish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,415 Americans carry the last name Disalvo. That puts it at #10,288 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,367 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Disalvo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Disalvo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 100,367
Census rank
#10,288
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,978 bearers of the surname Disalvo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10288th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Disalvo, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Disalvo
The surname DISALVO has its origins in Italy, with the earliest known examples dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Italian words "di" and "salvo," which together mean "of the safe" or "of the unharmed." This could suggest that the name was originally given to someone who had survived a significant event or danger.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DISALVO can be found in a document from the city of Naples, dated to around 1285. This document mentions a man named Pietro DISALVO, who was a merchant in the city at that time. The name also appears in various other records from the region, including tax rolls and property deeds.
By the 14th century, the name had spread to other parts of Italy, with families bearing the DISALVO surname appearing in records from cities such as Florence and Rome. In some cases, the name was spelled slightly differently, such as "DeSalvo" or "DiSalvo," reflecting regional variations in Italian dialects.
One notable figure with the DISALVO surname was Antonio DISALVO, a Renaissance painter who lived in Naples from around 1460 to 1525. He was known for his religious works, including frescoes and altarpieces in various churches throughout the city.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Girolamo DISALVO, a 16th-century philosopher and scholar who taught at the University of Bologna. He was born in the town of Piacenza in 1522 and died in Bologna in 1599.
In the 18th century, the DISALVO name appeared in records from the island of Sicily, where a family of that surname owned a vineyard and produced wine. One member of this family, Giuseppe DISALVO, was born in 1745 and is mentioned in documents related to the family's wine business.
Moving into the 19th century, there was a notable figure named Ernesto DISALVO, who was born in Rome in 1832 and became a prominent lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the Italian parliament and was involved in the unification of Italy under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Finally, in the early 20th century, a man named Vincenzo DISALVO made a significant contribution to the field of metallurgy. Born in Naples in 1890, he developed new techniques for heat treatment of metals, which improved their strength and durability. His work had a lasting impact on the metallurgical industry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Disalvo
Among Census respondents with the surname Disalvo, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Disalvo 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 Disalvo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,744
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 149
- Two or more races1.8% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Disalvo
Disalvo 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
#10,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,156
+138 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 342 places
2020
#10,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,978
-178 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,869 | 3,018 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,211 | 3,156 | 1.07 | +138 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 342 places |
| 2020 | #10,288 | 2,978 | 1.00 | -178 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 77 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 Disalvo 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 | #10,211 | #10,288 | -0.8% |
| Count | 3,156 | 2,978 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 1.00 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Disalvo bearers went from 3,156 to 2,978 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,211 to #10,288.
FAQ
Disalvo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Disalvo?
Name Census estimates that about 3,415 living Americans carry the surname Disalvo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,367 residents.
How common is Disalvo?
Disalvo ranks #10,288 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,978 people with the surname Disalvo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,415), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Disalvo.
Has Disalvo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Disalvo went from 3,156 recorded bearers to 2,978. That is a decrease of 178 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,211 to #10,288.
What does the Census say about the background of Disalvo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Disalvo, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Disalvo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,744 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Disalvo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Disalvo (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 Disalvo mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a person who removes salt from something, such as meat or fish. 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 Disalvo (1.00 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 Disalvo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.