2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Paoletto
A diminutive form of the surname Paoli or Paolelli, referring to someone small or little.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Paoletto. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paoletto 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Paoletto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paoletto, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paoletto
The surname Paoletto has its origins in Italy, specifically in the regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It dates back to the 13th century and is thought to be derived from the Italian diminutive form of the name Paolo, which itself comes from the Latin name Paulus.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Paoletto surname can be found in a document from the year 1284, which mentions a certain Guglielmo Paoletto from the town of Treviso in the Veneto region. This suggests that the name may have been in use in that area for some time before the 13th century.
The Paoletto name also appears in various historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries, including in church registers and tax rolls from towns and villages in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, such as Udine and Pordenone.
A notable early bearer of the Paoletto surname was Giovanni Paoletto, a merchant and diplomat who was born in Venice in the late 14th century. He is known to have represented the Republic of Venice in trade negotiations with the Ottoman Empire in the early 1400s.
In the 16th century, the Paoletto family gained prominence in the city of Vicenza, where they were involved in the textile trade and held various civic positions. One member of this family, Girolamo Paoletto (1518-1592), was a renowned painter and architect who worked on several important buildings in Vicenza and the surrounding area.
Another famous person with the Paoletto surname was Antonio Paoletto (1834-1912), a renowned Italian painter and sculptor who was born in Udine. His works can be found in various museums and galleries across Italy and Europe.
Throughout history, the Paoletto name has also been associated with various place names in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions, such as the village of Paoletto near Treviso, and the Paoletto district in the city of Udine.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paoletto
Among Census respondents with the surname Paoletto, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Paoletto 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 Paoletto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 11
- Two or more races5.4% · 6
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paoletto
Paoletto appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,498 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 2,498 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 Paoletto 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 | #150,452 | #147,954 | 1.7% |
| Count | 109 | 112 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paoletto bearers went from 109 to 112 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 2,498 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #147,954.
FAQ
Paoletto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paoletto?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Paoletto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Paoletto?
Paoletto ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 112 people with the surname Paoletto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Paoletto.
Has Paoletto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paoletto went from 109 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Paoletto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paoletto, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Paoletto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paoletto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.0%), Hispanic (9.8%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Paoletto (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 Paoletto mean?
A diminutive form of the surname Paoli or Paolelli, referring to someone small or little. 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 Paoletto (0.04 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 Paoletto?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.