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

Vito, 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 Vito surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vito in America

Vito is the 16462nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vito surname appeared 1,746 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 Vito.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vito 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 Vito

The surname Vito originated in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of the country, such as Campania, Calabria, and Sicily. It is derived from the Latin name Vitus, which means "life" or "vitality." The name Vitus was also the name of an early Christian martyr from Sicily, which may have contributed to its popularity in the region.

In the Middle Ages, the name Vito appeared in various Italian records and documents, often in its Latinized form, Vitus. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Vito can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Campania region, dating back to the 11th century.

The surname Vito was also associated with several notable historical figures from Italy. One of the earliest was Vito Capialbi (1790-1853), a historian and archivist from Calabria who wrote extensively about the history and culture of his region. Another notable figure was Vito Volterra (1860-1940), an Italian mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the fields of functional analysis and biomathematics.

In the 15th century, the surname Vito was also found in records from the city of Naples, particularly in association with the Vito family, a prominent noble family of the time. One member of this family, Gian Battista Vito (1423-1492), was a renowned architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in Naples, including the Palazzo Reale di Napoli.

Another notable figure with the surname Vito was Vito Marsili (1749-1836), an Italian naturalist and explorer who traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean region and published several important works on the natural history and geography of the areas he visited.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, several individuals with the surname Vito made significant contributions to the arts and literature in Italy. These included the writer and poet Vito Domenico Palumbo (1857-1918) and the playwright and screenwriter Vito Di Girolamo (1890-1979).

While the surname Vito is most closely associated with Italy, it has also been found in other parts of the world due to Italian immigration. However, its roots and historical significance can be traced back to the southern regions of Italy, where it has been a prominent surname for centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vito

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

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

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