2000
#10,294
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,868
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Todaro
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold a type of cheese called casu fittu.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,962 Americans carry the last name Todaro. That puts it at #11,628 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 115,717 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Todaro 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
3.0K
1 in 115,717
Census rank
#11,628
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,583 bearers of the surname Todaro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11628th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Todaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Todaro
The surname Todaro originated in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of Sicily and Calabria. It is believed to have derived from the Greek word "tydarios," meaning "luck" or "fortune." The name's earliest known origins can be traced back to the 12th century, during the Norman conquest of southern Italy.
In the Middle Ages, the name Todaro was commonly found in various historical records and manuscripts from Sicily. One notable example is the Sicilian Roll of Arms, a heraldic roll dating back to the 14th century, which lists several families with the surname Todaro.
The first recorded instances of the name Todaro can be found in the municipal archives of Palermo, Sicily, in the late 13th century. These records mention individuals with variations of the surname, such as Tudaro, Todaru, and Thodaro.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Todaro was Guglielmo Todaro, a nobleman from Palermo who lived in the late 13th century. He was recorded as a landowner and a prominent figure in the city's political affairs.
Another notable figure was Francesco Todaro, a Sicilian philosopher and theologian who lived in the 15th century. He was a professor at the University of Palermo and authored several works on logic and metaphysics.
In the 16th century, the name Todaro was also found in the Kingdom of Naples, which at the time included parts of southern Italy. One example is Girolamo Todaro, a lawyer and judge from the city of Cosenza in Calabria, who lived from 1520 to 1587.
The 17th century saw the rise of Vincenzo Todaro, a Sicilian painter and architect who was active in Palermo. He is known for his work on several churches and palaces in the city, including the Church of San Francesco di Paola.
In the 19th century, Giuseppe Todaro, a botanist and naturalist from Palermo, made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Sicily. He was born in 1818 and served as the director of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Palermo.
While the surname Todaro has its roots in southern Italy, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Italian diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Todaro
Among Census respondents with the surname Todaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Todaro 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 Todaro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 2,368
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 130
- Two or more races1.9% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Todaro
Todaro 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
#10,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,911
+43 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 641 places
2020
#11,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,583
-328 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 693 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,294 | 2,868 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,935 | 2,911 | 0.99 | +43 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 641 places |
| 2020 | #11,628 | 2,583 | 0.86 | -328 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 693 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 Todaro 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 | #10,935 | #11,628 | -6.3% |
| Count | 2,911 | 2,583 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.86 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Todaro bearers went from 2,911 to 2,583 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 693 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,935 to #11,628.
FAQ
Todaro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Todaro?
Name Census estimates that about 2,962 living Americans carry the surname Todaro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 115,717 residents.
How common is Todaro?
Todaro ranks #11,628 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,583 people with the surname Todaro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,962), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Todaro.
Has Todaro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Todaro went from 2,911 recorded bearers to 2,583. That is a decrease of 328 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,935 to #11,628.
What does the Census say about the background of Todaro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Todaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Todaro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (2,368 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Todaro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Todaro (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 Todaro mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold a type of cheese called casu fittu. 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 Todaro (0.86 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 have the last name Todaro?
See how many Americans have the surname Todaro on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.