Teo last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Teo

A surname originating from a contracted form of the Greek name Theodore.

Teo, 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 Teo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Teo in America

Teo is the 18007th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Teo surname appeared 1,550 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 Teo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Teo 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 18007 26125 -36.79%
Count 1,550 881 55.04%
Proportion per 100k 0.53 0.33 46.51%

The history of the last name Teo

The surname TEO originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name Theodorus, which means "gift of God." The name was initially spelled as Teo or Theo, and it was common among early Christian communities in Italy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TEO can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of documents from the Lombard period in Italy (568-774 AD). In this collection, a man named Teo is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Tuscany.

During the Renaissance period, the name TEO became more widespread in Italy. In the 14th century, a Florentine scholar named Teo Borgognoni (1292-1369) was known for his contributions to the study of canon law and theology.

In the 16th century, a wealthy merchant family from Venice, the Teo family, gained prominence. One of its members, Andrea Teo (1508-1572), was a successful trader and philanthropist who funded the construction of several churches and hospitals in Venice.

Another notable bearer of the surname TEO was Giacomo Teo (1605-1672), an Italian painter from Bologna. He was known for his religious paintings and frescoes adorning various churches in Italy.

In the 18th century, a Spanish military officer named Tomás Teo (1724-1789) played a significant role in the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. He was appointed as the governor of the island of Mindanao and was instrumental in establishing Spanish control over the region.

The surname TEO also found its way to other parts of Europe. In the 19th century, a German philosopher named Friedrich Teo (1821-1891) gained recognition for his work on ethics and the philosophy of religion.

While the surname TEO has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and cultural exchange. However, its origins and historical significance remain closely tied to the Italian peninsula and its rich cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Teo

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

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 Teo was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 4.39% 68
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 62.65% 971
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 5.61% 87
Hispanic Origin 26.26% 407

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 4.39% 5.11% -15.16%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 62.65% 68.33% -8.67%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 5.61% 6.13% -8.86%
Hispanic 26.26% 18.96% 32.29%

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

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

"Teo last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 13, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/teo-surname-popularity/.

"Teo last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/teo-surname-popularity/. Accessed 13 December, 2024

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

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.