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

Romeo, 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 Romeo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Romeo in America

Romeo is the 4108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Romeo surname appeared 8,636 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Romeo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Romeo 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 Romeo

The surname Romeo originated in Italy during the Renaissance period. It is derived from the Italian word "romeo," which means a pilgrim or traveler to Rome. The name is believed to have originated in the regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where many people undertook pilgrimages to the city of Rome.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a document from the city of Florence, dated 1382, which mentions a certain "Piero Romeo." The Florentine writer and poet Giovanni Boccaccio also mentioned a character named "Romeo" in his famous work, "The Decameron," written around 1350.

The surname Romeo gained widespread recognition in the 16th century with the publication of William Shakespeare's famous play, "Romeo and Juliet." The protagonist, Romeo Montague, became one of the most iconic literary characters of all time, and the name Romeo became forever associated with tragic love stories.

In the 17th century, the name Romeo appeared in several historical records, such as the registry of births and marriages in the town of Verona, where the play "Romeo and Juliet" is set. One notable bearer of the name was Matteo Romeo, a Venetian merchant and diplomat who lived from 1589 to 1647.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Romeo was found in various parts of Italy, including the regions of Calabria, Sicily, and Campania. Some notable individuals with this surname include the Italian painter and sculptor Vincenzo Romeo (1770-1838) and the Italian composer and conductor Ruggiero Romeo (1851-1919).

In the 20th century, the name Romeo gained international recognition with the rise of the Italian-American community in the United States. One of the most famous bearers of this surname was the American actor and singer Cesar Romero (1907-1994), who was of Italian descent and known for his roles in films and television shows.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Romeo

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Romeo, 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!