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

Zeno, 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 Zeno surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zeno in America

Zeno is the 10505th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zeno surname appeared 3,055 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 Zeno.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zeno 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 Zeno

The surname Zeno originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Venice. It can be traced back to the 13th century and is derived from the Greek name "Zenon," which means "gift of Zeus." The name is believed to have been brought to Italy by Greek settlers during the Byzantine era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Zeno can be found in the Venetian archives from the year 1289, where a merchant named Marco Zeno is mentioned. The Zeno family was a prominent and influential noble family in Venice during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.

In the 14th century, the brothers Nicolo and Antonio Zeno embarked on a legendary voyage to the North Atlantic, during which they claimed to have discovered lands that were later identified as parts of Greenland and North America. Their account, known as the "Zeno Narrative," has been a subject of debate among historians for centuries.

Another notable figure with the surname Zeno was the philosopher Apostolos Zenos (1468-1520), who was born in Crete and later taught in Venice. He was a influential scholar of Greek philosophy and contributed to the revival of Platonism during the Renaissance.

The Zeno surname also appears in historical records from other parts of Italy, such as the island of Sardinia. In the 16th century, Agostino Zeno (1529-1591) was a prominent Sardinian jurist and author who wrote extensively on legal matters.

During the Renaissance period, the Zeno family in Venice produced several notable figures, including the playwright and poet Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750), who is considered one of the pioneers of the Italian opera libretto.

In the 18th century, the philosopher and mathematician Niccolò Zeno (1713-1767) made significant contributions to the fields of calculus and fluid mechanics. He was born in Venice and later became a professor at the University of Padua.

Throughout history, the surname Zeno has been associated with various professions, including merchants, philosophers, writers, and scholars, reflecting the diverse and rich cultural heritage of Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zeno

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

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

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