2000
#4,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,008
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Sacco
An Italian occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of sacks or bags.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,477 Americans carry the last name Sacco. That puts it at #5,179 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,841 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sacco 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 Sacco with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.5K
1 in 45,841
Census rank
#5,179
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,520 bearers of the surname Sacco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5179th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sacco, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sacco
The surname Sacco finds its origins in Italy, specifically in the northern regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It emerged during the Middle Ages, likely derived from the Italian word "sacco," meaning "sack" or "bag." This occupational surname was likely given to individuals involved in the production or trade of sacks or bags, a common profession during that era.
The earliest recorded mention of the Sacco surname dates back to the 13th century in the city of Milan, where a certain Guglielmo Sacco was documented in a municipal record from the year 1276. Around the same period, the Sacco family was also present in the nearby town of Varese, with records indicating their involvement in the local wool trade.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various historical documents across northern Italy. One notable mention is in the Codice Diplomatico Padovano, a collection of archival records from the city of Padua, where a certain Nicolo Sacco was recorded as a merchant in the year 1342.
As the Sacco family expanded and migrated across Italy, they left their mark in various regions. In the 15th century, a branch of the family settled in the town of Sacco, near Naples, which may have influenced the surname's spelling and pronunciation in that area.
Among the notable individuals bearing the Sacco surname throughout history are:
1. Niccolò Sacco (c. 1490-1558), an Italian humanist scholar and philosopher from Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik).
2. Girolamo Sacco (1515-1588), an Italian architect and military engineer who designed fortifications in Turin and other cities.
3. Bartolomeo Sacco (1570-1642), an Italian painter active in Naples during the Baroque period.
4. Ferdinando Sacco (1642-1696), an Italian composer and organist from Milan.
5. Nicola Sacco (1891-1927), an Italian-born American anarchist who, along with Bartolomeo Vanzetti, was controversially convicted and executed for murder in a highly publicized case in the United States.
The Sacco surname has also been associated with various place names throughout Italy, such as the town of Sacco mentioned earlier, as well as the communes of Saccolongo and Saccolongo Monferrato in the Piedmont region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sacco
Among Census respondents with the surname Sacco, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sacco 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 Sacco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 6,032
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 244
- Two or more races2.5% · 166
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 41
- Black or African American0.4% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sacco
Sacco 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
#5,051
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,942
-66 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 2.35
Rank movement Down 424 places
2020
#5,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,520
-422 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 2.18
Rank movement Down 128 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,627 | 7,008 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,051 | 6,942 | 2.35 | -66 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 424 places |
| 2020 | #5,179 | 6,520 | 2.18 | -422 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 128 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 Sacco 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 | #5,051 | #5,179 | -2.5% |
| Count | 6,942 | 6,520 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.35 | 2.18 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sacco bearers went from 6,942 to 6,520 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 128 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,051 to #5,179.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sacco
FAQ
Sacco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sacco?
Name Census estimates that about 7,477 living Americans carry the surname Sacco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,841 residents.
How common is Sacco?
Sacco ranks #5,179 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,520 people with the surname Sacco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,477), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sacco.
Has Sacco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sacco went from 6,942 recorded bearers to 6,520. That is a decrease of 422 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,051 to #5,179.
What does the Census say about the background of Sacco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sacco, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Sacco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (6,032 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sacco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Sacco (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 Sacco mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of sacks or bags. 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 Sacco (2.18 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 many people are called Sacco?
See how common the surname Sacco is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.