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

Paradiso, 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 Paradiso surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Paradiso in America

Paradiso is the 15658th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Paradiso surname appeared 1,865 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Paradiso.

We can also compare 2010 data for Paradiso 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 Paradiso

The surname Paradiso originates from Italy, derived from the Italian word "paradiso" meaning "paradise." It is believed to have emerged as a surname in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.

Paradiso was likely initially used as a descriptive surname, referring to a person who lived in a particularly beautiful or idyllic location, or perhaps someone who had a pleasant demeanor. The name may have also been given as a nickname to individuals who lived in areas known for their natural beauty or abundance.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Paradiso can be found in the famous literary work "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, written in the early 14th century. In this epic poem, Paradiso refers to the third and final part, which describes Dante's journey through Heaven or Paradise.

During the Renaissance period, the name Paradiso became more widespread in various regions of Italy, particularly in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, where it is still relatively common today.

Notable individuals with the surname Paradiso include Giovanni Paradiso, a 16th-century Italian painter and architect from Bergamo, who was active in the late Renaissance period. Another notable figure was Francesco Paradiso, an Italian jurist and legal scholar from Naples, who lived in the 17th century.

In the 19th century, Salvatore Paradiso was an Italian composer and music teacher from Naples, known for his contributions to the Neapolitan School of opera. Later, in the 20th century, Vincenzo Paradiso was an Italian politician and trade unionist from Calabria, who served as a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.

The surname Paradiso has also been documented in historical records from various Italian regions, such as the Venetian Republic and the Kingdom of Naples, where it appeared in tax records, census lists, and other official documents from the 16th to 19th centuries.

While the name Paradiso has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world through Italian emigration, particularly to countries like the United States, Argentina, and Australia, where Italian communities have flourished.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Paradiso

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

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

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

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