2000
#12,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,246
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Lazzaro
Derived from the biblical name Lazarus, meaning "God has helped," and originally given to one who was resurrected.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,370 Americans carry the last name Lazzaro. That puts it at #13,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,622 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lazzaro 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
2.4K
1 in 144,622
Census rank
#13,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,067 bearers of the surname Lazzaro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lazzaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lazzaro
The surname Lazzaro originates from Italy and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Italian name Lazzaro, which is a variant of the biblical name Lazarus. The name Lazarus itself comes from the Aramaic name El'azar, meaning "God has helped".
In Italy, the name Lazzaro was particularly common in the regions of Campania and Lazio, where it was often used as a personal name before becoming a hereditary surname. The earliest recorded instances of the surname Lazzaro can be found in various medieval documents from these regions.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Lazzaro was Lazzaro di Piero, a merchant from Naples who lived in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in several commercial records from that time period. Another notable early bearer was Lazzaro Bramante, an Italian Renaissance architect and painter who was born in Fermignano, near Urbino, in 1444 and died in 1514.
In the 15th century, a family of Lazzaro gained prominence in the city of Padua. One member, Lazzaro Lazzari (1445-1516), was a renowned physician and professor at the University of Padua. His grandson, Lazzaro Lazzari (1515-1585), was also a physician and served as the personal doctor to several Venetian doges.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Lazzaro surname spread to other parts of Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia. In Sardinia, the name was sometimes spelled as "Lazzaru" or "Lazzaru-Dore" due to the influence of the local Sardinian language.
Another notable bearer of the Lazzaro surname was Giovanni Andrea Lazzaro (1608-1688), an Italian painter from Genoa who was known for his religious and mythological works. His paintings can be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.
As the Lazzaro surname spread throughout Italy over the centuries, it also began to appear in other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by Italian immigrants and their descendants. However, its origins can be firmly traced back to the Italian regions of Campania and Lazio in the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lazzaro
Among Census respondents with the surname Lazzaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lazzaro 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 Lazzaro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 1,864
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 118
- Two or more races2.7% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lazzaro
Lazzaro 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
#12,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,547
+301 bearers (+13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 421 places
2020
#13,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,067
-480 bearers (-18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 1,746 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,642 | 2,246 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,221 | 2,547 | 0.86 | +301 bearers (+13.4%) | Up 421 places |
| 2020 | #13,967 | 2,067 | 0.69 | -480 bearers (-18.8%) | Down 1,746 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 Lazzaro 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 | #12,221 | #13,967 | -14.3% |
| Count | 2,547 | 2,067 | -18.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.69 | -19.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lazzaro bearers went from 2,547 to 2,067 (-18.8% change). The surname moved down 1,746 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,221 to #13,967.
FAQ
Lazzaro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lazzaro?
Name Census estimates that about 2,370 living Americans carry the surname Lazzaro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,622 residents.
How common is Lazzaro?
Lazzaro ranks #13,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,067 people with the surname Lazzaro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,370), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Lazzaro.
Has Lazzaro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lazzaro went from 2,547 recorded bearers to 2,067. That is a decrease of 480 (-18.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,221 to #13,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Lazzaro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lazzaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Lazzaro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (1,864 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lazzaro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Hispanic (5.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Lazzaro (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 Lazzaro mean?
Derived from the biblical name Lazarus, meaning "God has helped," and originally given to one who was resurrected. 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 Lazzaro (0.69 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 are called Lazzaro?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Lazzaro at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.