2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Zimmaro
An Italian surname possibly derived from a German place name or nickname.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Zimmaro. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zimmaro 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Zimmaro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zimmaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zimmaro
The surname Zimmaro traces its origins to Italy, prominent particularly in the southern regions. Derived likely from a place-name or a geographical feature, it shares structural similarities with various Italian surnames that end in -aro, which often indicate a descriptive nature or occupational derivative. The time period of the surname's earliest known use points to the Late Middle Ages, around the 14th to 15th centuries, when hereditary surnames became more common in Italy.
In historical records, the surname Zimmaro appears occasionally in regional documents from Calabria and Sicily. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname dates back to a 15th-century land grant document listing a Giovanni Zimmaro as a minor landholder in Calabria. This suggests an established presence in these areas during this time.
Old Italian dialects played a significant role in the evolution of surnames. Zimmaro might be phonetically connected to the southern Italian word zimarra, meaning a gown or robe, which could indicate either an ancestral connection to an occupation related to garment-making or describe a person who typically wore such attire. Medieval manuscripts occasionally note variations in spelling such as Zimaro and Zimmaro, reflecting regional dialectical differences.
Historical references to individuals with the surname include Benedetto Zimmaro (born 1520, died 1597), a priest in a small Calabrian parish who was noted for his charitable works during the mid-16th century. Another notable figure is Luca Zimmaro, an 18th-century merchant based in Palermo, Sicily, who engaged in trade with northern Italian and Spanish merchants, indicating the surname's spread and established reputation in commercial circles.
By the 19th century, the name had made minor appearances in local political records. For instance, Cesare Zimmaro, born in 1812 in Reggio Calabria, became a local council member who advocated for agricultural advancements in the region. His contributions to local governance were recorded in municipal archives.
In literature, a Carlo Zimmaro (born 1875, died 1942), an enlightened author and poet, emerged during the early 20th century. He is known for his works depicting rural life in southern Italy, thus bringing some cultural heft to the surname. Another figure, Maria Zimmaro (born 1930), achieved recognition in academia as a historian specializing in medieval southern Italy, contributing various scholarly articles to Italian historical journals.
The surname Zimmaro today, primarily concentrated in Italy, particularly in the southern regions, continues to hold historical and cultural significance, linking modern descendants back to centuries of Italian heritage and societal contributions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zimmaro
Among Census respondents with the surname Zimmaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Zimmaro 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 Zimmaro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 114
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zimmaro
Zimmaro appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+14 bearers (+14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 14,480 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+14.0%) | Up 14,480 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 Zimmaro 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 | #160,975 | #146,495 | 9.0% |
| Count | 100 | 114 | 14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zimmaro bearers went from 100 to 114 (+14.0% change). The surname moved up 14,480 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #146,495.
FAQ
Zimmaro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zimmaro?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Zimmaro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Zimmaro?
Zimmaro ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Zimmaro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Zimmaro.
Has Zimmaro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zimmaro went from 100 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 14 (+14.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Zimmaro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zimmaro, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Zimmaro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zimmaro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Zimmaro (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 Zimmaro mean?
An Italian surname possibly derived from a German place name or nickname. 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 Zimmaro (0.04 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 Zimmaro?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Zimmaro on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.