2000
#14,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,822
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Paradiso
A surname indicating someone who lived in or came from an area called "Paradiso" or "Paradise".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,086 Americans carry the last name Paradiso. That puts it at #15,502 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,312 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paradiso 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
2.1K
1 in 164,312
Census rank
#15,502
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,819 bearers of the surname Paradiso in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15502nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paradiso, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paradiso
Among Census respondents with the surname Paradiso, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Paradiso 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 Paradiso surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 1,557
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 191
- Two or more races2.0% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 24
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paradiso
Paradiso 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
#15,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,865
+43 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 760 places
2020
#15,502
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,819
-46 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 156 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,898 | 1,822 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,658 | 1,865 | 0.63 | +43 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 760 places |
| 2020 | #15,502 | 1,819 | 0.61 | -46 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 156 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 Paradiso 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 | #15,658 | #15,502 | 1.0% |
| Count | 1,865 | 1,819 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.61 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paradiso bearers went from 1,865 to 1,819 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 156 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,658 to #15,502.
FAQ
Paradiso surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paradiso?
Name Census estimates that about 2,086 living Americans carry the surname Paradiso. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,312 residents.
How common is Paradiso?
Paradiso ranks #15,502 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,819 people with the surname Paradiso. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,086), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Paradiso.
Has Paradiso become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paradiso went from 1,865 recorded bearers to 1,819. That is a decrease of 46 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,658 to #15,502.
What does the Census say about the background of Paradiso?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paradiso, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Paradiso in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (1,557 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paradiso appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Hispanic (10.5%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Paradiso (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 Paradiso mean?
A surname indicating someone who lived in or came from an area called "Paradiso" or "Paradise". 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 Paradiso (0.61 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 are called Paradiso?
See how many Americans have the surname Paradiso on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.