2000
#7,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,930
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Petrillo
Derived from the Italian name Pietro, meaning "stone" or "rock," referring to someone with a steadfast or resolute personality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,078 Americans carry the last name Petrillo. That puts it at #8,842 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,050 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petrillo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Petrillo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 84,050
Census rank
#8,842
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,556 bearers of the surname Petrillo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8842nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petrillo
The surname Petrillo originated in Italy, particularly in the southern regions of Campania and Basilicata. It can be traced back to the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Italian personal name Pietro, which is the Italian form of the Latin name Petrus, meaning "rock" or "stone."
The Petrillo surname is believed to have emerged as a patronymic, indicating "son of Pietro." This naming convention was common in Italy during the Middle Ages when surnames were becoming more widespread. It is likely that the earliest bearers of the Petrillo surname were the descendants of a man named Pietro.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Petrillo surname can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Barese," a collection of documents from the 12th to the 16th centuries related to the city of Bari in southern Italy. This collection includes references to individuals with the surname Petrillo in the 14th and 15th centuries.
In the 16th century, the Petrillo surname appeared in various historical records, such as birth, marriage, and death records, as well as land registries and tax rolls. One notable individual from this period was Giovan Battista Petrillo, a 16th-century Italian composer and organist.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Petrillo surname continued to be prevalent in southern Italy, particularly in the regions of Campania and Basilicata. Notable bearers of the name from this period include Nicola Petrillo, an Italian painter active in the late 17th century, and Pasquale Petrillo, an 18th-century Italian composer and organist.
In the 19th century, the Petrillo surname gained wider recognition with individuals such as Enrico Petrillo, an Italian politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Naples from 1876 to 1878. Another notable figure was Giuseppe Petrillo, an Italian sculptor born in 1855 in Naples.
In the early 20th century, Nick Petrillo, also known as Nicholas Petrillo, was an Italian-American mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit, a prominent organized crime syndicate. He was born in 1894 in Acri, Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, becoming involved in organized crime activities in Chicago.
Throughout its history, the Petrillo surname has been associated with various occupations, from artists and musicians to politicians and, unfortunately, organized crime figures. While the name originated in southern Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to Italian immigration, particularly to the United States and other countries with significant Italian diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrillo
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Petrillo 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 Petrillo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 3,255
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 156
- Two or more races2.8% · 100
- Black or African American0.6% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petrillo
Petrillo 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
#7,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,179
+249 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 119 places
2020
#8,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,556
-623 bearers (-14.9%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 922 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,801 | 3,930 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,920 | 4,179 | 1.42 | +249 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 119 places |
| 2020 | #8,842 | 3,556 | 1.19 | -623 bearers (-14.9%) | Down 922 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 Petrillo 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 | #7,920 | #8,842 | -11.6% |
| Count | 4,179 | 3,556 | -14.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.19 | -16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petrillo bearers went from 4,179 to 3,556 (-14.9% change). The surname moved down 922 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,920 to #8,842.
FAQ
Petrillo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petrillo?
Name Census estimates that about 4,078 living Americans carry the surname Petrillo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,050 residents.
How common is Petrillo?
Petrillo ranks #8,842 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 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 3,556 people with the surname Petrillo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,078), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 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 Petrillo.
Has Petrillo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petrillo went from 4,179 recorded bearers to 3,556. That is a decrease of 623 (-14.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,920 to #8,842.
What does the Census say about the background of Petrillo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Petrillo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (3,255 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petrillo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Petrillo (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 Petrillo mean?
Derived from the Italian name Pietro, meaning "stone" or "rock," referring to someone with a steadfast or resolute personality. 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 Petrillo (1.19 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 have the last name Petrillo?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Petrillo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.