Find out how popular the last name Novo is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Novo.

Novo, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Novo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Novo in America

Novo is the 23333rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Novo surname appeared 1,091 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Novo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Novo to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Novo

The surname NOVO is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin word "novus," meaning "new." This name emerged in the medieval period, around the 12th to 13th centuries, as a descriptive surname given to someone who was a newcomer to a particular town or region.

The earliest recorded instances of the name NOVO can be found in various Italian municipal records from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, a certain Giulio Novo is mentioned in the records of the city of Siena in 1287, indicating his status as a recent arrival in the area.

In some regions of Italy, the name NOVO also took on variations such as Novi or Nuovo, reflecting local dialects and spelling conventions. These variants were particularly common in the northern regions of Italy, such as Piedmont and Lombardy.

One notable historical figure with the surname NOVO was Giovanni Battista Novo, a 16th-century Italian Renaissance painter born in the city of Palermo, Sicily, around 1510. His works, particularly his religious paintings and frescoes, can still be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Antonio Novo, a 17th-century Italian architect and engineer born in Naples in 1594. He was renowned for his innovative designs and contributions to the reconstruction efforts following the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1631.

In the realm of literature, the name NOVO is associated with Jacopo Novo, a 14th-century Italian poet and scholar from Venice. His poetic works, though not widely known today, were celebrated during his lifetime and contributed to the rich literary tradition of the Venetian Republic.

It is also worth mentioning Francesco Novo, a 19th-century Italian botanist and naturalist born in Naples in 1829. His extensive research on the flora of southern Italy and his contributions to the field of botany earned him recognition among his peers.

Lastly, Enrico Novo, an Italian mathematician and physicist born in Turin in 1901, made significant contributions to the study of quantum mechanics and nuclear physics. His pioneering work in these fields earned him international acclaim and paved the way for further advancements in modern physics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Novo

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Novo.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Novo was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Novo has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Novo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Novo, please contact us.

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