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

Zello, 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 Zello surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zello in America

Zello is the 87663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zello surname appeared 212 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 Zello.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zello 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 Zello

The surname Zello is believed to have originated in Italy, likely during the Medieval period. This name appears to be of Lombardic origin and is concentrated in the northern regions of Italy, particularly in the area of Lombardy. Zello is thought to derive from a diminutive form of the ancient Germanic name Zell or related to the word "cell," which means "a small room" or "cell" in ecclesiastical terms, reflecting monastic roots.

Historical records from the 12th century indicate the presence of the Zello family in manuscripts from Lombardy. One of the earliest known references to this name appears in a 1198 document listing citizens involved in local governance. The name is documented in various forms, including Zelli and Cello, which reinforces the notion of its ecclesiastical and Germanic origins.

One significant historical figure with the surname Zello is Giovanni Zello, born in 1415 and mentioned as a councilman in Milan's civic records during the mid-15th century. His contributions to local society were noted in administrative documents, marking an early example of the name's influence on regional politics.

In the late 16th century, Antonella Zello, born in 1574, is another historical individual who reemerges in marriage records from Venice. Her presence in Venice indicates the migration and expansion of the family name into broader parts of Northern Italy.

Moving into the 17th century, Francesco Zello, born in 1610, served as a noted scholar and scribe. His works, which include several treatises on Lombardic history, are preserved in the regional library of Milan. Francesco's prolific contributions to historical literature have been well-documented.

In more recent centuries, an influential member of the Zello family was Maria Zello (born in 1823), an important figure in the Italian unification movement. Her participation in several key political assemblies of the Risorgimento period highlights the continued presence and impact of the Zello surname in Italian historical narratives.

The name Zello also found its way into legal documents of the 18th century, evidenced by the lawyer Luigi Zello, born in 1765. Active in Turin, Luigi's writings on the civil code reforms are noted in several legal libraries, establishing the surname as one of recognized scholarly importance within Italy.

The surname Zello has thus evolved from its early Lombardic roots, maintaining its presence through various historical periods and making significant contributions to social, political, and academic spheres in Northern Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zello

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

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

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

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