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

Roberto, 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 Roberto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Roberto in America

Roberto is the 8706th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Roberto surname appeared 3,770 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 Roberto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Roberto 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 Roberto

The surname ROBERTO is of Italian origin and derived from the given name Roberto, which itself comes from the Germanic name Robert, meaning "bright renown." The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the Middle Ages in various regions of Italy, particularly in the central and southern parts of the country.

In the 12th century, the name ROBERTO appeared in several historical records and documents, including the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval charters and deeds from the Campania region of southern Italy. This suggests that the surname was already well-established by this time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the ROBERTO surname was Niccolò Roberto, a nobleman and landowner who lived in the town of Alife, near Caserta, in the 13th century. Records from the period mention him as a prominent figure in the local community.

During the Renaissance, the ROBERTO surname became more widespread across Italy, particularly in cities like Florence, Rome, and Naples. Notable individuals with this surname include the painter Girolamo Roberto (1539-1592), whose works can be found in various churches and galleries in Italy.

In the 17th century, the ROBERTO family established themselves as influential landowners and merchants in the town of Salerno, near the Amalfi Coast. One member of the family, Antonio Roberto (1624-1691), was a successful merchant and served as a local magistrate.

The ROBERTO surname also has a connection to the island of Sicily, where it was particularly common in the city of Palermo. One of the most famous bearers of the name from this region was Giuseppe Roberto (1768-1839), a renowned architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and public spaces in Palermo.

Other notable individuals with the ROBERTO surname include the Italian writer and journalist Vincenzo Roberto (1818-1897), who was a prominent figure in the Risorgimento movement for Italian unification, and the painter Gian Domenico Roberto (1592-1662), whose works can be found in churches and museums throughout Italy.

While the ROBERTO surname has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Italian emigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, this detailed history focuses primarily on the origins and early bearers of the name within Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Roberto

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

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

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

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