2000
#8,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,546
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Roberto
An Italian surname derived from the Germanic name Hrodebert, meaning "bright fame."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,054 Americans carry the last name Roberto. That puts it at #8,890 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,547 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roberto 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 Roberto with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 84,547
Census rank
#8,890
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,535 bearers of the surname Roberto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8890th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roberto, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roberto
Among Census respondents with the surname Roberto, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Roberto 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 Roberto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.4% · 2,207
- Hispanic or Latino24.3% · 860
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.9% · 313
- Two or more races2.5% · 88
- Black or African American1.5% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roberto
Roberto 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
#8,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,770
+224 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 152 places
2020
#8,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,535
-235 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,554 | 3,546 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,706 | 3,770 | 1.28 | +224 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 152 places |
| 2020 | #8,890 | 3,535 | 1.18 | -235 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 184 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 Roberto 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 | #8,706 | #8,890 | -2.1% |
| Count | 3,770 | 3,535 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.18 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roberto bearers went from 3,770 to 3,535 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,706 to #8,890.
FAQ
Roberto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roberto?
Name Census estimates that about 4,054 living Americans carry the surname Roberto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,547 residents.
How common is Roberto?
Roberto ranks #8,890 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 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 3,535 people with the surname Roberto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,054), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 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 Roberto.
Has Roberto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roberto went from 3,770 recorded bearers to 3,535. That is a decrease of 235 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,706 to #8,890.
What does the Census say about the background of Roberto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roberto, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%). 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 Roberto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.4% (2,207 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roberto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.4%), Hispanic (24.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%). 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 Roberto (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 Roberto mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Germanic name Hrodebert, meaning "bright fame." 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 Roberto (1.18 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 common is the surname Roberto?
You can see how many people have the last name Roberto on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.