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

Valdo, 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 Valdo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Valdo in America

Valdo is the 103655th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Valdo surname appeared 173 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Valdo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Valdo 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 Valdo

The surname Valdo originated in Italy, where it first appeared during the medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "valdese," which means "Waldensian" and refers to an ancient Christian movement that arose in the 12th century in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy.

The name is thought to have been adopted by followers of the Waldensian faith, who were persecuted for their beliefs and often forced to flee to other parts of Europe. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various documents and records from the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Valdo was Pietro Valdo, a wealthy merchant from Lyon, France, who lived in the late 12th century. He was a key figure in the Waldensian movement and helped to spread its teachings throughout Europe.

Another notable bearer of the name was Giovanni Valdo, a 14th-century Italian theologian and philosopher who was a prominent member of the Waldensian community in the city of Pinerolo, in the Piedmont region.

In the 15th century, the name Valdo appeared in the records of the town of Luserna San Giovanni, also in Piedmont, where a significant Waldensian population had settled. One of the earliest recorded residents with this surname was Giovanni Valdo, who lived in the town in the early 1400s.

The surname Valdo continued to be prevalent in the Waldensian communities of northern Italy throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, with several individuals of note bearing the name. These included Girolamo Valdo, a 16th-century Waldensian pastor and author, and Gian Giacomo Valdo, a 17th-century Waldensian military leader who fought against the persecution of his community.

As the Waldensian faith spread to other parts of Europe, the surname Valdo also became more widely dispersed. It can be found in various historical records from countries such as France, Germany, and Switzerland, where Waldensian communities established themselves over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Valdo

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

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

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

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