2000
#11,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,601
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Melillo
An Italian occupational surname referring to a person who produced or sold honey or beeswax.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,558 Americans carry the last name Melillo. That puts it at #13,139 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,993 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Melillo 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
2.6K
1 in 133,993
Census rank
#13,139
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,231 bearers of the surname Melillo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13139th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Melillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Melillo
The surname Melillo has its origins in Italy, specifically in the regions of Campania and Sicily. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
Melillo is derived from the Latin word "melillus," which means "honey-sweet" or "honey-colored." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with someone who had a sweet or pleasant personality, or it could have been a nickname relating to physical characteristics, such as fair hair or complexion.
In its early iterations, the name appeared in various spellings, including Melilli, Melillo, and Mellillo. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the evolution of the Italian language over time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Melillo can be found in the "Catalogus Baronum," a medieval document from the late 12th century that listed the feudal lords and their fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily. This document mentions a certain "Robertus de Melillo" as holding lands in the area of Messina, Sicily.
Another notable historical figure bearing the Melillo surname was Giacomo Melillo, a Neapolitan philosopher and scientist who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known for his contributions to the field of natural philosophy and his work on the theory of motion.
In the 17th century, there was a prominent Melillo family in the town of Nola, near Naples. One member of this family, Gennaro Melillo (1625-1701), was a renowned painter and architect who worked on several churches and palaces in the region.
Moving into the 18th century, the name Melillo appears in connection with the town of Gioia del Colle in the Apulia region of southern Italy. A notable figure from this era was Domenico Melillo (1718-1793), a lawyer and judge who served in the local courts.
Another significant individual with the Melillo surname was Francesco Melillo (1836-1915), an Italian politician and lawyer from Naples. He served as a member of the Italian Parliament and was actively involved in the political affairs of the newly unified Italian state in the late 19th century.
Throughout history, the Melillo name has been associated with various professions, including the arts, sciences, law, and politics, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of individuals bearing this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melillo
Among Census respondents with the surname Melillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Melillo 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 Melillo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 2,035
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 134
- Two or more races2.2% · 49
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Melillo
Melillo 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
#11,428
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,757
+156 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 244 places
2020
#13,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,231
-526 bearers (-19.1%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 1,711 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,184 | 2,601 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,428 | 2,757 | 0.93 | +156 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 244 places |
| 2020 | #13,139 | 2,231 | 0.75 | -526 bearers (-19.1%) | Down 1,711 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 Melillo 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 | #11,428 | #13,139 | -15.0% |
| Count | 2,757 | 2,231 | -19.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.75 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Melillo bearers went from 2,757 to 2,231 (-19.1% change). The surname moved down 1,711 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,428 to #13,139.
FAQ
Melillo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Melillo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,558 living Americans carry the surname Melillo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,993 residents.
How common is Melillo?
Melillo ranks #13,139 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,231 people with the surname Melillo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Melillo.
Has Melillo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Melillo went from 2,757 recorded bearers to 2,231. That is a decrease of 526 (-19.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,428 to #13,139.
What does the Census say about the background of Melillo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Melillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Melillo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (2,035 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Melillo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (6.0%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Melillo (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 Melillo mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a person who produced or sold honey or beeswax. 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 Melillo (0.75 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 share the surname Melillo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.