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

Rio, 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 Rio surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rio in America

Rio is the 17726th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rio surname appeared 1,581 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 Rio.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rio 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 Rio

The surname Rio is believed to have originated in Spain, with its earliest recorded usage dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "rio," which translates to "river" in English. This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who lived near or worked in proximity to rivers.

One of the earliest known references to the Rio surname can be found in a medieval Spanish manuscript from 1187, which mentions a landowner named Pedro del Rio. This document provides insight into the surname's usage during the 12th century and its potential connection to land ownership or geographic locations.

During the 13th century, the Rio surname appeared in several official records and documents in the region of Castile, Spain. Notably, a nobleman named Rodrigo de Rio was mentioned in a legal document from 1286, indicating the name's prevalence among the nobility and upper classes of the time.

As the Rio surname spread throughout Spain, it also found its way into other regions and countries. In the 16th century, records show the presence of individuals with the surname Rio in the Spanish colonies of the Americas, particularly in Mexico and Peru.

One notable individual with the Rio surname was Andrés Manuel del Rio, a Spanish-Mexican chemist and mineralogist born in 1764. He is credited with the discovery of the chemical element vanadium in 1801, making a significant contribution to the field of chemistry.

Another prominent figure associated with the Rio surname was Manuel Fernández del Rio, a Spanish artist and painter born in 1825. He was known for his landscapes and genre paintings, which captured the essence of Spanish life and culture during the 19th century.

In the 20th century, the Rio surname gained further recognition with individuals such as Dolores del Rio, a renowned Mexican-American actress born in 1905. She starred in numerous Hollywood films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and was a pioneer for Hispanic representation in the entertainment industry.

The name Rio has also been linked to various place names throughout history. For example, the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which translates to "River of January," was named after the Guanabara Bay, which was initially mistaken for a river by early Portuguese explorers.

While the Rio surname has its roots in Spain, it has since spread worldwide, with individuals bearing this name contributing to various fields, including the arts, sciences, and entertainment, over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rio

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

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 Rio 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 Rio 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 Rio was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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