2000
#13,855
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,000
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Scotto
An Italian occupational surname referring to a tax collector or treasurer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,101 Americans carry the last name Scotto. That puts it at #15,413 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,139 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scotto 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.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 163,139
Census rank
#15,413
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,832 bearers of the surname Scotto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15413th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scotto, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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of the name Scotto can be found in the Sicilian town of Noto, where a family bearing this surname is mentioned in historical documents dating back to the 13th century.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scotto
Among Census respondents with the surname Scotto, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Scotto 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 Scotto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 1,625
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 143
- Two or more races2.7% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scotto
Scotto 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
#14,713
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,019
+19 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 858 places
2020
#15,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,832
-187 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 700 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,855 | 2,000 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,713 | 2,019 | 0.68 | +19 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 858 places |
| 2020 | #15,413 | 1,832 | 0.61 | -187 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 700 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 Scotto 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 | #14,713 | #15,413 | -4.8% |
| Count | 2,019 | 1,832 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.61 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scotto bearers went from 2,019 to 1,832 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 700 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,713 to #15,413.
FAQ
Scotto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scotto?
Name Census estimates that about 2,101 living Americans carry the surname Scotto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,139 residents.
How common is Scotto?
Scotto ranks #15,413 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,832 people with the surname Scotto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,101), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Scotto.
Has Scotto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scotto went from 2,019 recorded bearers to 1,832. That is a decrease of 187 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,713 to #15,413.
What does the Census say about the background of Scotto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scotto, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Scotto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (1,625 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scotto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Scotto (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 Scotto mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a tax collector or treasurer. 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 Scotto (0.61 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 Americans have the surname Scotto?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.