2000
#13,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Militello
A habitational surname referring to a person from any of the places named Militello in Sicily or Calabria, Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,259 Americans carry the last name Militello. That puts it at #14,543 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Militello 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
2.3K
1 in 151,728
Census rank
#14,543
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,970 bearers of the surname Militello in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14543rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Militello, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Militello
The surname Militello originated in Sicily, Italy in the medieval period. It derived from the Italian place name Militello, which is a combination of the Latin words "milites" meaning soldiers and "tellus" meaning land or territory. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone living on land owned by soldiers or an area inhabited by soldiers.
Militello is found in several towns across Sicily, such as Militello Rosmarino, Militello Val di Catania, and Militello Val di Noto. The first recorded instance of the surname appears to be Ruggerio di Militello, a nobleman from Militello Val di Catania mentioned in records from 1287.
In the 14th century, the surname is seen in records from the town of Militello Val di Noto, such as Bartolomeo Militello who was a landowner there in 1327. The variant spelling Militellu is also found in old Sicilian records from the 1300s.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Vincenzo Militello, a Sicilian poet born in 1506 in Militello Val di Noto. He wrote works in both Italian and Sicilian dialect.
Later examples include Giuseppe Militello (1766-1827), an Italian painter from Palermo known for religious works, and Gaetano Militello (1828-1883), a Sicilian sculptor who created various public monuments in Palermo.
In the 20th century, Francesco Militello (1901-1979) was an Italian painter and sculptor from Ragusa, Sicily who specialized in ceramic artworks depicting Sicilian folk scenes and traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Militello
Among Census respondents with the surname Militello, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Militello 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 Militello surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 1,784
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 119
- Two or more races1.9% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Militello
Militello 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
#14,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,129
+17 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 864 places
2020
#14,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,970
-159 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 430 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,249 | 2,112 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,113 | 2,129 | 0.72 | +17 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 864 places |
| 2020 | #14,543 | 1,970 | 0.66 | -159 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 430 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 Militello 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 | #14,113 | #14,543 | -3.0% |
| Count | 2,129 | 1,970 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.66 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Militello bearers went from 2,129 to 1,970 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 430 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,113 to #14,543.
FAQ
Militello surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Militello?
Name Census estimates that about 2,259 living Americans carry the surname Militello. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,728 residents.
How common is Militello?
Militello ranks #14,543 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,970 people with the surname Militello. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,259), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Militello.
Has Militello become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Militello went from 2,129 recorded bearers to 1,970. That is a decrease of 159 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,113 to #14,543.
What does the Census say about the background of Militello?
Among Census respondents with the surname Militello, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Militello in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (1,784 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Militello appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (6.0%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Militello (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 Militello mean?
A habitational surname referring to a person from any of the places named Militello in Sicily or Calabria, Italy. 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 Militello (0.66 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 Militello?
Want to know how many people are called Militello? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.