2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pistello
An Italian surname derived from the word "pistello" meaning pestle or grinding tool.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Pistello. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pistello 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Pistello in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pistello, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pistello
The surname Pistello has its origins in Italy, tracing back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "pistello," meaning a small pestle or pounder, likely referring to an occupation or tool used by the family's earliest ancestors.
The name is first recorded in archival documents from the region of Tuscany, particularly in the city of Florence and its surrounding areas. Historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries show various spellings such as "Pistelli," "Pistello," and "Pistilla," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pistello appears in the Catasto, a detailed census of Florentine citizens conducted in 1427. This document lists several families bearing the surname, indicating their presence in the city during that time period.
In the 16th century, the name gained prominence with the rise of the Pistelli family in Florence. Notably, Andrea Pistelli (1508-1572) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Pisa and authored several influential works on Roman law.
Another notable figure from this era was Giulio Pistelli (1550-1623), a Florentine painter and architect who was commissioned to design several churches and public buildings in his hometown.
As the centuries progressed, the Pistello name spread to other regions of Italy, including Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto. In the 18th century, records show a branch of the family settling in the town of Castelfranco Veneto, near Venice.
One of the most prominent individuals bearing the Pistello name was Luigi Pistelli (1833-1912), a renowned Italian philologist and scholar of Greek and Latin literature. He served as a professor at the University of Pisa and made significant contributions to the study of ancient texts.
Another notable figure was Ermenegildo Pistelli (1865-1936), a linguist and scholar of Romance languages, who taught at the University of Florence and authored several influential works on Italian linguistics and philology.
Throughout its history, the Pistello surname has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Italy, with many individuals contributing to the fields of law, academia, art, and literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pistello
Among Census respondents with the surname Pistello, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pistello 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 Pistello surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.5% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pistello
Pistello appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,852 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 1,852 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 Pistello 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 | #148,347 | #146,495 | 1.2% |
| Count | 111 | 114 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pistello bearers went from 111 to 114 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 1,852 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #146,495.
FAQ
Pistello surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pistello?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Pistello. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Pistello?
Pistello ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 114 people with the surname Pistello. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Pistello.
Has Pistello become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pistello went from 111 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 3 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Pistello?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pistello, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Pistello in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pistello appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.5%), Hispanic (2.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). 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 Pistello (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 Pistello mean?
An Italian surname derived from the word "pistello" meaning pestle or grinding tool. 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 Pistello (0.04 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 share the surname Pistello?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.