2000
#7,905
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,885
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.44
Rare Last name
Nero
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "nero," meaning "black" or "dark-complexioned."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,641 Americans carry the last name Nero. That puts it at #7,863 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,854 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nero 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Nero with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 73,854
Census rank
#7,863
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,047 bearers of the surname Nero in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7863rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nero, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.6%. The next largest groups are Black (41.2%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nero
The surname NERO is of Italian origin, deriving from the Latin word "niger" meaning "black." The name likely arose as a descriptive nickname for someone with dark features or dark hair. It first appeared in historical records during the Middle Ages in regions such as Tuscany and Lazio.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Petrus Niger, a medieval philosopher and scholar from Venice who lived around 1200 AD. The surname was also recorded in the Codice Diplomatico della Lombardia (Diplomatic Code of Lombardy) in the 13th century.
The name gained notoriety due to its association with the Roman emperor Nero (37-68 AD), who ruled from 54 to 68 AD. Although Nero was not his surname, his infamous reign and the tales of his cruelty and excesses have made the name synonymous with tyranny and depravity.
In the 14th century, the surname was found in the Florentine Catasto, a tax record, with mentions of individuals such as Giovanni di Nero and Simone di Nero. During the Renaissance period, the NERO surname was borne by several notable artists and intellectuals, including the painter Battista Neri (1541-1614) and the philosopher and mathematician Niccolo Tartaglia (1499-1557), whose birth name was Niccolò Fontana Nero.
Other historical figures with the NERO surname include the 16th-century Italian mathematician Pietro Neri (1515-1595) and the 17th-century Italian architect and sculptor Giovanni Battista Neri (1617-1686). In more recent times, the Italian film director and screenwriter Franco Nero (born 1941) has carried on the legacy of this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nero
Among Census respondents with the surname Nero, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.6%. The next largest groups are Black (41.2%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Nero 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 Nero surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.6% · 1,887
- Black or African American41.2% · 1,668
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 205
- Two or more races4.5% · 184
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nero
Nero 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
#7,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,259
+374 bearers (+9.6%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Up 118 places
2020
#7,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,047
-212 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,905 | 3,885 | 1.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,787 | 4,259 | 1.44 | +374 bearers (+9.6%) | Up 118 places |
| 2020 | #7,863 | 4,047 | 1.35 | -212 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 76 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 Nero 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 | #7,787 | #7,863 | -1.0% |
| Count | 4,259 | 4,047 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.44 | 1.35 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nero bearers went from 4,259 to 4,047 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,787 to #7,863.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Nero
FAQ
Nero surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nero?
Name Census estimates that about 4,641 living Americans carry the surname Nero. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,854 residents.
How common is Nero?
Nero ranks #7,863 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,047 people with the surname Nero. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,641), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Nero.
Has Nero become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nero went from 4,259 recorded bearers to 4,047. That is a decrease of 212 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,787 to #7,863.
What does the Census say about the background of Nero?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nero, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.6%. The next largest groups are Black (41.2%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Nero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.6% (1,887 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nero appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (46.6%), Black (41.2%), Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Nero (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 Nero mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "nero," meaning "black" or "dark-complexioned." 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 Nero (1.35 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 Nero?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.