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

Spero, 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 Spero surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spero in America

Spero is the 14617th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spero surname appeared 2,036 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 Spero.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spero 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 Spero

The surname Spero is of Italian origin, deriving from the Latin word "sperare" which means "to hope" or "to expect." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 10th to 13th centuries, in various regions of Italy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Spero name can be found in a document from the city of Verona, dated 1287, which mentions a certain Petrus Spero. This suggests that the name was already in use during the late medieval period in northern Italy.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the Spero surname was Giacomo Spero, a wealthy merchant from Venice who played a significant role in the city's trade with the Byzantine Empire. His name appears in several commercial records from that era.

During the Renaissance, the Spero family was influential in the city of Florence, where they were involved in the textile industry. One of the most renowned members was Antonio Spero (1452-1523), a successful banker and patron of the arts who commissioned works from renowned artists like Michelangelo.

In the 17th century, a branch of the Spero family migrated to the Kingdom of Naples, where they established themselves as landowners and nobility. Marcello Spero (1612-1687) was a prominent military leader who fought against the Ottoman Turks and was awarded the title of Duke by the Spanish Crown.

Another notable figure was Giovanni Battista Spero (1715-1789), a celebrated composer and music theorist from the city of Bologna. His treatises on music theory were widely studied and influential in their time.

As the centuries passed, the Spero surname spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by Italian emigrants seeking new opportunities. Today, it can be found across various countries, though it remains most prevalent in Italy and among Italian diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spero

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

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

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

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