Find out how popular the last name Porto is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Porto.

Porto, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Porto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Porto in America

Porto is the 9234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Porto surname appeared 3,526 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Porto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Porto to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Porto

The surname Porto originated in Portugal during medieval times. It is derived from the Latin word 'portus', meaning a port or harbor. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a port or worked in maritime trade.

Porto was initially found in northern Portugal, particularly in the city of Porto, which takes its name from the Latin 'Portus Cale'. This city has been an important seaport since ancient Roman times. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appear in Portuguese records from the 13th and 14th centuries.

One notable early bearer of the name was João do Porto, a 14th-century Portuguese explorer who traveled along the West African coast. In 1346, he reached the Rio de Ouro (modern-day Senegal River), further south than any previous European explorer.

Another prominent figure was Amador Patricio do Porto, a 16th-century Portuguese soldier and explorer. He accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on the first circumnavigation of the globe from 1519 to 1522, though he did not survive the entire voyage.

The surname spread throughout the Portuguese Empire during the Age of Exploration. It can be found in former Portuguese colonies like Brazil, Cape Verde, and Angola. One example is José Vieira Porto (1719-1793), a Brazilian priest and philosopher who advocated for Brazilian independence from Portugal.

In Italy, the similar surname Porto emerged independently, derived from the Italian word 'porto' meaning port. Michele Porto (1569-1648) was an Italian Jesuit priest and mathematician who made contributions to the study of optics and the telescope.

Over time, variations like Oporto and Da Porto also developed. Pedro da Porto (1550-1612) was a Portuguese architect and engineer who designed several churches and fortifications in Portugal and Brazil.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Porto

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Porto.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Porto was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Porto has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Porto was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Porto, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!