2000
#12,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,363
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Merlino
A surname of Italian origin referring to a person who hunts birds with a merlin falcon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,613 Americans carry the last name Merlino. That puts it at #12,896 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,173 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Merlino 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 131,173
Census rank
#12,896
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,279 bearers of the surname Merlino in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12896th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Merlino, 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 Merlino
The surname Merlino is of Italian origin, deriving from the medieval Italian word "merlo," which means "blackbird." It is thought to have originated as a nickname or descriptive name for someone with dark hair or complexion resembling the distinctive black plumage of the blackbird.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Lombardy, and Emilia-Romagna. In some instances, the name may have also evolved from place names containing the word "merlo," such as Merlo in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Guglielmo Merlino, a notary from Parma who lived in the late 13th century. His name appears in several legal documents from that era, attesting to the existence of the surname in that region.
In the 14th century, a nobleman named Gherardo Merlino was a prominent figure in the city of Pisa. He served as a councilor and ambassador for the Republic of Pisa during the turbulent period of conflicts between the maritime republics of Italy.
Another notable bearer of the name was Antonio Merlino, a renowned Italian painter from the late 15th century. Born in Nola, near Naples, he was known for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches in the region.
During the Renaissance period, the Merlino family produced several scholars and intellectuals, including Girolamo Merlino, a humanist and philosopher from Vicenza who lived in the early 16th century. He was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of his time and authored several works on philosophy and rhetoric.
In the 17th century, Sebastiano Merlino was a celebrated composer and musician from Naples. He composed several operas and sacred works, contributing to the rich musical tradition of the city during the Baroque era.
Over the centuries, variations of the surname have emerged, such as Merlini, Merloni, and Merlo, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic evolutions. Despite these variations, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in the image of the blackbird, a symbol that has endured through the generations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Merlino
Among Census respondents with the surname Merlino, 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 Merlino 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 Merlino surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 2,055
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 131
- Two or more races2.7% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Merlino
Merlino 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
#11,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,647
+284 bearers (+12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 283 places
2020
#12,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,279
-368 bearers (-13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 1,075 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,104 | 2,363 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,821 | 2,647 | 0.90 | +284 bearers (+12.0%) | Up 283 places |
| 2020 | #12,896 | 2,279 | 0.76 | -368 bearers (-13.9%) | Down 1,075 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 Merlino 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 | #11,821 | #12,896 | -9.1% |
| Count | 2,647 | 2,279 | -13.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.76 | -15.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Merlino bearers went from 2,647 to 2,279 (-13.9% change). The surname moved down 1,075 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,821 to #12,896.
FAQ
Merlino surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Merlino?
Name Census estimates that about 2,613 living Americans carry the surname Merlino. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,173 residents.
How common is Merlino?
Merlino ranks #12,896 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,279 people with the surname Merlino. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,613), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Merlino.
Has Merlino become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Merlino went from 2,647 recorded bearers to 2,279. That is a decrease of 368 (-13.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,821 to #12,896.
What does the Census say about the background of Merlino?
Among Census respondents with the surname Merlino, 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 Merlino in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (2,055 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Merlino 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 Merlino (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 Merlino mean?
A surname of Italian origin referring to a person who hunts birds with a merlin falcon. 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 Merlino (0.76 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 Merlino?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.