2000
#33,471
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 643
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.24
Very Rare Last name
Pallo
An Italian surname derived from a nickname meaning "ball" or "sphere".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 670 Americans carry the last name Pallo. That puts it at #40,442 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 511,574 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pallo 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
670
1 in 511,574
Census rank
#40,442
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
584
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 584 bearers of the surname Pallo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 40442nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pallo, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pallo
The surname Pallo has its origins in Italy, specifically in the region of Tuscany, where it first appeared in the 14th century. It is believed to derive from the Italian word "palla," meaning "ball," which may have been used as a nickname for someone involved in sports or activities involving balls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pallo can be found in the Florentine chronicles of the late 14th century, where a merchant named Giovanni Pallo is mentioned as being involved in trade with other Italian cities. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the Tuscan region by that time.
In the 15th century, the name Pallo appears in various records and documents from the cities of Florence, Pisa, and Siena. For example, a certain Piero Pallo is listed as a landowner in the Sienese countryside in a 1467 cadastral register.
During the Renaissance, the Pallo family gained prominence in the city of Florence, where they were active in the wool trade and held positions of influence in the local government. One notable figure from this period was Battista Pallo (1474-1538), a wealthy merchant and banker who served as a diplomat for the Florentine Republic.
In the 17th century, the name Pallo spread beyond Tuscany to other parts of Italy, such as the Veneto region. A notable bearer of the name from this time was Gasparo Pallo (1602-1675), a Venetian painter known for his works in churches and palaces throughout the Venetian Republic.
As the centuries passed, the Pallo surname continued to be carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, and professionals. One such figure was the Italian philosopher and mathematician Giuseppe Pallo (1788-1854), who made important contributions to the field of logic and the philosophy of mathematics.
Other notable individuals with the surname Pallo include the Italian painter and sculptor Vincenzo Pallo (1821-1901), who worked in the Neoclassical style, and the Italian historian and archivist Gerardo Pallo (1860-1932), who was instrumental in preserving and documenting the historical records of the city of Naples.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pallo
Among Census respondents with the surname Pallo, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pallo 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 Pallo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.0% · 473
- Hispanic or Latino13.7% · 80
- Two or more races2.7% · 16
- Black or African American1.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pallo
Pallo 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
#35,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 641
-2 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 1,676 places
2020
#40,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 584
-57 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 5,295 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #33,471 | 643 | 0.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #35,147 | 641 | 0.22 | -2 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 1,676 places |
| 2020 | #40,442 | 584 | 0.20 | -57 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 5,295 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 Pallo 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 | #35,147 | #40,442 | -15.1% |
| Count | 641 | 584 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.20 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pallo bearers went from 641 to 584 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 5,295 positions in the national ranking, going from #35,147 to #40,442.
FAQ
Pallo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pallo?
Name Census estimates that about 670 living Americans carry the surname Pallo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 511,574 residents.
How common is Pallo?
Pallo ranks #40,442 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 584 people with the surname Pallo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (670), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pallo.
Has Pallo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pallo went from 641 recorded bearers to 584. That is a decrease of 57 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #35,147 to #40,442.
What does the Census say about the background of Pallo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pallo, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.7%) 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 Pallo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (473 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pallo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.0%), Hispanic (13.7%), 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 Pallo (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 Pallo mean?
An Italian surname derived from a nickname meaning "ball" or "sphere". 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 Pallo (0.20 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 Pallo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.