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

Luo, 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 Luo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Luo in America

Luo is the 3564th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Luo surname appeared 10,005 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Luo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Luo 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 Luo

The surname Luo is of Chinese origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient kingdom of Lu, which was located in the eastern part of modern-day Shandong Province during the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC). The name is derived from the state of Lu, one of the most influential and powerful states during that era.

The earliest recorded instances of the Luo surname can be found in historical records from the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), where it was used by members of the nobility and ruling class associated with the state of Lu. One notable example is Confucius, the renowned philosopher and teacher, whose original surname was Luo before it was changed to Kong.

During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), the Luo surname gained prominence and spread across various regions of China. In the centuries that followed, several notable individuals bore this surname, including Luo Guanzhong (c. 1330-1400), the author of the classic novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and Luo Qing (1442-1527), a prominent Ming Dynasty scholar and calligrapher.

The Luo surname has also been associated with various place names throughout Chinese history. For instance, the city of Luoyang, one of the four great ancient capitals of China, derives its name from the state of Luo, indicating the historical significance of this surname.

Other notable individuals with the Luo surname include Luo Longji (c. 1633-1692), a renowned Qing Dynasty painter and calligrapher; Luo Binwang (1786-1854), a prominent scholar and philosopher during the Qing Dynasty; and Luo Niansheng (1852-1924), a pioneering Chinese educator and reformer.

Throughout history, the Luo surname has been widely dispersed across various regions of China, with significant populations found in Shandong, Henan, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces, among others. Despite its widespread distribution, the name retains a strong connection to its ancient roots in the state of Lu and the cultural heritage of the Spring and Autumn period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Luo

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

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 Luo 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 Luo 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 Luo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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