2000
#6,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,514
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.67
Rare Last name
Mercurio
An Italian surname derived from the Roman god Mercury, associated with commerce, communication, and travel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,971 Americans carry the last name Mercurio. That puts it at #7,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,951 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mercurio 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
5.0K
1 in 68,951
Census rank
#7,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,335 bearers of the surname Mercurio in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mercurio, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mercurio
The surname Mercurio has its origins in Italy, dating back to the late medieval period, around the 13th to 15th centuries. It is derived from the Latin name "Mercurius," which was the name of the Roman god of commerce, eloquence, and travelers. The name is believed to have been adopted as a surname by families engaged in mercantile or trading activities, or those who lived near a place dedicated to the god Mercury.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Mercurio can be found in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic work by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún, which mentions a Mercurio family residing in the city of Florence. Another notable early reference is found in the Catasto, a historical census of the city of Venice, which includes several families with the surname Mercurio in the 15th century.
The Mercurio surname is also linked to several place names in Italy, such as Mercurio Vecchio and Mercurio Nuovo in the Calabria region, as well as Mercurio in the province of Salerno. These place names may have influenced the adoption of the surname by families residing in or near these locations.
Several notable individuals throughout history have borne the surname Mercurio. One of the earliest was Pietro Mercurio, a 13th-century Venetian merchant and diplomat who served as an ambassador to the Byzantine Empire. In the 16th century, Girolamo Mercurio was a renowned Italian jurist and legal scholar, known for his work on Roman law.
During the Renaissance period, the Mercurio family produced several notable artists and intellectuals. Vincenzo Mercurio (1520-1598) was a renowned Italian painter and sculptor, known for his works in churches across Italy. Tommaso Mercurio (1575-1635) was a prominent philosopher and professor at the University of Padua, known for his writings on metaphysics and natural philosophy.
In more recent times, Giuseppe Mercurio (1877-1957) was an Italian composer and conductor, known for his operas and orchestral works. Rocco Mercurio (1891-1971) was a prominent Italian-American artist and sculptor, known for his public monuments and sculptures across the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mercurio
Among Census respondents with the surname Mercurio, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Mercurio 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 Mercurio surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 3,814
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 186
- Two or more races2.6% · 113
- Black or African American0.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mercurio
Mercurio 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
#7,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,528
+14 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Down 493 places
2020
#7,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,335
-193 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.45
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,864 | 4,514 | 1.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,357 | 4,528 | 1.54 | +14 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 493 places |
| 2020 | #7,416 | 4,335 | 1.45 | -193 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 59 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 Mercurio 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 | #7,357 | #7,416 | -0.8% |
| Count | 4,528 | 4,335 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.54 | 1.45 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mercurio bearers went from 4,528 to 4,335 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,357 to #7,416.
FAQ
Mercurio surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mercurio?
Name Census estimates that about 4,971 living Americans carry the surname Mercurio. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,951 residents.
How common is Mercurio?
Mercurio ranks #7,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.45 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 4,335 people with the surname Mercurio. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.45 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 Mercurio.
Has Mercurio become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mercurio went from 4,528 recorded bearers to 4,335. That is a decrease of 193 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,357 to #7,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Mercurio?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mercurio, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Mercurio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (3,814 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mercurio appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Hispanic (4.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Mercurio (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 Mercurio mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Roman god Mercury, associated with commerce, communication, and travel. 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 Mercurio (1.45 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 Americans have the surname Mercurio?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.