2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Mainello
An Italian surname derived from the Latin "magnus" meaning "great" or "mighty."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Mainello. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mainello 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Mainello in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mainello, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mainello
The surname Mainello has its origins in Italy, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Italian region of Campania, where many variations of the name were found, such as Mainelli, Mainella, and Mainetto.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Mainello appears in a document from the city of Naples in 1185, where a certain Guglielmo Mainello is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
The name Mainello is thought to derive from the Latin word "manellus," which means "small hand" or "little hand." It is possible that the name was originally a nickname given to someone with small hands or a delicate handwriting.
In the 14th century, the name Mainello was found in various records across southern Italy, including in the city of Salerno. One notable individual was Antonio Mainello, a renowned lawyer and judge who lived from 1305 to 1372.
During the Renaissance period, the Mainello family gained prominence in the city of Naples. The most famous member of this family was Tommaso Mainello, a humanist scholar and poet who lived from 1455 to 1508. His works, including a collection of Latin poems, were widely read and appreciated during his time.
Another notable figure bearing the surname Mainello was Girolamo Mainello, a 16th-century painter from Naples. He was known for his religious works and his frescoes adorning several churches in the city.
In the 17th century, the name Mainello appeared in records from the town of Vietri sul Mare, located near the Amalfi Coast. Giovanni Battista Mainello, born in 1625, was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a magistrate in the city of Naples.
As the centuries passed, the Mainello surname spread beyond its initial geographic origins, though it remained most concentrated in southern Italy, particularly in the regions of Campania and Calabria. Several individuals with this surname have made their mark in various fields, including arts, literature, and law.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mainello
Among Census respondents with the surname Mainello, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mainello 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 Mainello surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 6
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mainello
Mainello 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+12 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,452 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-6 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,453 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 2,452 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 7,453 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 Mainello 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 | #138,304 | #145,757 | -5.4% |
| Count | 121 | 115 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mainello bearers went from 121 to 115 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 7,453 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #145,757.
FAQ
Mainello surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mainello?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Mainello. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Mainello?
Mainello ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Mainello. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mainello.
Has Mainello become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mainello went from 121 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Mainello?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mainello, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Mainello in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mainello appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.2%), Hispanic (5.2%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Mainello (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 Mainello mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin "magnus" meaning "great" or "mighty." 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 Mainello (0.04 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 common is the surname Mainello?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Mainello at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.