Find out how popular the last name Gennaro is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gennaro.

Gennaro, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gennaro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gennaro in America

Gennaro is the 20382nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gennaro surname appeared 1,304 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gennaro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gennaro to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gennaro

The surname Gennaro is of Italian origin, deriving from the given name Gennaro, which is the Italian form of the Latin name Ianuarius. The name Ianuarius is derived from the Roman god Janus, the deity of beginnings and transitions, who was honored during the month of January.

Gennaro was originally concentrated in the regions of Campania and Basilicata in southern Italy. It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the late medieval period, when the practice of adopting hereditary surnames became more widespread in Europe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gennaro can be found in a document from the city of Naples, dated 1287. This document mentions a certain "Gennaro di Capua," indicating that the name was present in the area during that time.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various historical records from the Kingdom of Naples, such as tax rolls and land registries. Some notable examples include Gennaro Carafa (1444-1508), a Roman Catholic cardinal, and Gennaro Annese (1453-1527), a famous painter from Naples.

During the Renaissance period, the surname Gennaro gained prominence with the birth of several influential figures, like Gennaro Miroballo (1570-1649), a renowned architect from Naples who designed several churches and palaces in the city.

In the 18th century, Gennaro Gatti (1701-1778) was a celebrated Italian sculptor and architect, known for his work on the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.

Another notable individual with the surname Gennaro was Gennaro Ferrigno (1873-1927), an Italian-American labor leader and activist who played a significant role in the labor movement in New York City during the early 20th century.

Gennaro Arrighi (1925-2009) was a prominent sociologist and world-systems theorist, best known for his contributions to the study of globalization and the analysis of historical capitalism.

The surname Gennaro has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Gennaro di Sessa Aurunca and Gennaro di Paterno, reflecting the geographic distribution of the name across different regions of the country.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gennaro

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gennaro.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gennaro was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gennaro has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gennaro was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gennaro, please contact us.

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