2000
#10,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,716
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Piccolo
An Italian occupational surname referring to a player of the piccolo, a small flute-like musical instrument.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,781 Americans carry the last name Piccolo. That puts it at #12,253 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,249 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piccolo 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 Piccolo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,249
Census rank
#12,253
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,425 bearers of the surname Piccolo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12253rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piccolo, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piccolo
The surname Piccolo originated in Italy. It is an Italian word meaning "small" or "little" and was originally used as a nickname for someone of small stature or a younger child in a family. The name can be traced back to the medieval period, with early records showing variations like Piccolo, Piccoli, and Piccolino.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Giovanni Piccolo, a merchant from Venice who lived in the 13th century. Historical records mention a Piccolo family residing in the city of Lucca in Tuscany during the 14th century. In the 15th century, the name appears in tax records from the Kingdom of Naples.
The Piccolo surname is also found in old manuscripts and documents from various regions of Italy, such as Sicily, Calabria, and Campania. For instance, a document from 1487 in Naples mentions a Gaspare Piccolo, a landowner and farmer.
One notable individual with the Piccolo surname was Antonio Piccolo, a Renaissance painter born in Venice around 1440. He was known for his religious works and portraits. Another famous bearer of the name was Niccolò Piccolo, an Italian philosopher and theologian who lived from 1551 to 1636.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe Piccolo (1823-1891) was a prominent Italian politician and journalist from Palermo, Sicily. He served as a deputy in the Italian Parliament and was a vocal advocate for the unification of Italy.
The Piccolo name has also been associated with several place names in Italy, such as Piccolo San Bernardo, a mountain pass in the Alps, and Piccolo Carro, a regional park near Rome. These place names likely derived from the Italian word "piccolo" meaning small or little.
Overall, the surname Piccolo has a rich history in Italy, with its roots dating back to the medieval period. It has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, artists, philosophers, and politicians, and has also been linked to various geographical locations throughout the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piccolo
Among Census respondents with the surname Piccolo, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Piccolo 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 Piccolo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 2,184
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 142
- Two or more races2.4% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
- Black or African American0.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piccolo
Piccolo 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
#11,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,804
+88 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 488 places
2020
#12,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,425
-379 bearers (-13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 980 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,785 | 2,716 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,273 | 2,804 | 0.95 | +88 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 488 places |
| 2020 | #12,253 | 2,425 | 0.81 | -379 bearers (-13.5%) | Down 980 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 Piccolo 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 | #11,273 | #12,253 | -8.7% |
| Count | 2,804 | 2,425 | -13.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.81 | -14.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piccolo bearers went from 2,804 to 2,425 (-13.5% change). The surname moved down 980 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,273 to #12,253.
FAQ
Piccolo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piccolo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,781 living Americans carry the surname Piccolo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,249 residents.
How common is Piccolo?
Piccolo ranks #12,253 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,425 people with the surname Piccolo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,781), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Piccolo.
Has Piccolo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piccolo went from 2,804 recorded bearers to 2,425. That is a decrease of 379 (-13.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,273 to #12,253.
What does the Census say about the background of Piccolo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piccolo, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Piccolo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (2,184 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piccolo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (5.9%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Piccolo (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 Piccolo mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a player of the piccolo, a small flute-like musical instrument. 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 Piccolo (0.81 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 Piccolo?
See how many people have the surname Piccolo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.