2000
#62,046
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 302
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Picardo
A derivative of the Italian surname Piccardo, likely originating as a nickname for someone small or meager in size.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 494 Americans carry the last name Picardo. That puts it at #52,071 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 693,835 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Picardo 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
494
1 in 693,835
Census rank
#52,071
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
431
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 431 bearers of the surname Picardo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 52071st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Picardo, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.9%) and Hispanic (20.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Picardo
The surname PICARDO is believed to have originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Calabria in southern Italy. It likely dates back to the 12th or 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Italian word "piccardo," which means "someone from Picardy," a historical region in northern France.
One theory suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who immigrated from Picardy to Italy during the Middle Ages, possibly as part of the Angevin dominion over parts of southern Italy and Sicily during that period. The earliest recorded instances of the name in Italy appear to be in Calabria and Sicily.
Historical records show that in the 14th century, a man named Giacomo PICARDO was a prominent landowner and merchant in the city of Reggio Calabria. Another early reference is found in a legal document from 1412, which mentions a Giovanni PICARDO from the town of Tropea in Calabria.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname PICARDO was Vincenzo PICARDO, a Sicilian priest and scholar who wrote several works on theology and philosophy. He was born in Messina, Sicily, in 1542 and died in 1608.
Another early individual of note was Girolamo PICARDO, a painter from Calabria who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Some of his works can still be found in churches and museums in southern Italy.
In the 18th century, a man named Giuseppe PICARDO was a respected lawyer and judge in the city of Naples. He was born in 1723 and died in 1798.
Throughout its history, the surname PICARDO has also been associated with various place names in southern Italy, such as the town of Picardo near Reggio Calabria and the village of Picardo in the province of Catanzaro.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Picardo
Among Census respondents with the surname Picardo, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.9%) and Hispanic (20.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Picardo 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 Picardo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.5% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander29.9% · 129
- Hispanic or Latino20.0% · 86
- Two or more races4.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Picardo
Picardo 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
#62,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 320
+18 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 485 places
2020
#52,071
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 431
+111 bearers (+34.7%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 10,460 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #62,046 | 302 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #62,531 | 320 | 0.11 | +18 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 485 places |
| 2020 | #52,071 | 431 | 0.14 | +111 bearers (+34.7%) | Up 10,460 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 Picardo 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 | #62,531 | #52,071 | 16.7% |
| Count | 320 | 431 | 34.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.14 | 31.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Picardo bearers went from 320 to 431 (+34.7% change). The surname moved up 10,460 positions in the national ranking, going from #62,531 to #52,071.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Picardo
FAQ
Picardo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Picardo?
Name Census estimates that about 494 living Americans carry the surname Picardo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 693,835 residents.
How common is Picardo?
Picardo ranks #52,071 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 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 431 people with the surname Picardo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (494), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 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 Picardo.
Has Picardo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Picardo went from 320 recorded bearers to 431. That is an increase of 111 (+34.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #62,531 to #52,071.
What does the Census say about the background of Picardo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Picardo, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.9%) and Hispanic (20.0%). 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 Picardo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.5% (196 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Picardo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (45.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (29.9%), Hispanic (20.0%). 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 Picardo (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 Picardo mean?
A derivative of the Italian surname Piccardo, likely originating as a nickname for someone small or meager in size. 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 Picardo (0.14 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 Americans have the surname Picardo?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.