Scotto last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Scotto

An Italian occupational surname referring to a tax collector or treasurer.

Scotto, 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 Scotto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scotto in America

Scotto is the 14713th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scotto surname appeared 2,019 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 Scotto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scotto 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 14713 13855 6.01%
Count 2,019 2,000 0.95%
Proportion per 100k 0.68 0.74 -8.45%

The history of the last name Scotto

The surname Scotto is of Italian origin, deriving from the Latin word "scottus" which means "Scotsman" or "Irishman". It is believed to have first emerged in Italy during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions such as Sicily and Naples, where there was a significant presence of Scottish and Irish migrants and settlers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Scotto can be found in the Sicilian town of Noto, where a family bearing this surname is mentioned in historical documents dating back to the 13th century. The name is also found in various medieval records and manuscripts from southern Italy, indicating its widespread use in the region.

In the 14th century, a notable figure named Giovanni Scotto (born around 1300) was a prominent Sicilian scholar and philosopher who authored several works on logic and metaphysics. His writings influenced the intellectual discourse of the time and contributed to the preservation of the Scotto surname.

During the Renaissance period, the Scotto family of Venice made a significant mark in the world of publishing. Members of this family, such as Girolamo Scotto (1505-1572) and his son Ottaviano Scotto (1535-1611), established a renowned printing press that produced numerous important works, including the first edition of Galileo Galilei's "Sidereus Nuncius" in 1610.

Another notable figure was Francesco Scotto (1808-1863), an Italian poet and patriot from Naples who played an active role in the Italian unification movement known as the Risorgimento. His writings and political activism helped shape the nationalist sentiments of the time.

In the 20th century, Antonio Scotto (1921-2005) was an Italian-American boxer and actor who had a successful career in both sports and entertainment. He appeared in several films and television shows, including "The Godfather" and "The Untouchables".

It is worth noting that variations of the spelling, such as "Scotti" and "Scoto", have also been used historically, reflecting the regional linguistic diversity of Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scotto

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

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 Scotto was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 91.98% 1,857
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.59% 12
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.25% 5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.35% 7
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.84% 17
Hispanic Origin 5.99% 121

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 Scotto has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 91.98% 94.00% -2.17%
Black 0.59% 0.65% -9.68%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.25% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.35% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.84% 1.55% -59.41%
Hispanic 5.99% 3.30% 57.91%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Scotto last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 2, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/scotto-surname-popularity/.

"Scotto last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/scotto-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 August, 2025

Scotto last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/scotto-surname-popularity/.

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