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

Ocello, 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 Ocello surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ocello in America

Ocello is the 74141st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ocello surname appeared 261 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 Ocello.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ocello 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 Ocello

The surname Ocello originated in Italy, with its earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "ocellus," which means "little eye" or "eye-like pattern," referring to a small, circular shape resembling an eye.

The name was first concentrated in the regions of Campania and Calabria in southern Italy. It is possible that the name may have originated as a nickname referring to someone with distinctive or striking eyes, or it could have been an occupational name for a maker of eyeglasses or related optical instruments.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ocello can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Monastery of Cava de' Tirreni in Campania, dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Ocellus" and "Ocellino," indicating its early variations.

In the 14th century, records show an individual named Guglielmo Ocello, a prominent merchant and landowner from the town of Salerno in Campania. His descendants continued to use the surname, and it gradually spread to other parts of Italy.

Another notable figure bearing the surname Ocello was Francesco Ocello, a 16th-century Italian painter from Naples. He was known for his religious works and contributed to the decoration of several churches in the region.

During the 17th century, the name Ocello gained prominence in the town of Bari, in the Apulia region of southern Italy. One notable individual from this period was Giuseppe Ocello, a renowned scholar and philosopher who authored several treatises on metaphysics and ethics.

In the 18th century, the Ocello family established itself in the city of Palermo, Sicily. Antonio Ocello, born in 1725, was a prominent lawyer and jurist who served as a judge in the Royal Court of Palermo.

As the centuries progressed, the surname Ocello continued to spread throughout Italy and to other parts of Europe, with individuals bearing the name making significant contributions in various fields, including the arts, academia, and public service.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ocello

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

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 Ocello 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 Ocello 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 Ocello was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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