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

Zito, 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 Zito surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zito in America

Zito is the 6461st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zito surname appeared 5,257 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Zito.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zito 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 Zito

The surname Zito originated in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of Campania and Sicily. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century.

Zito may have derived from the Italian word "zito," meaning "unmarried" or "bachelor." This suggests the name could have initially been a nickname or descriptive term for an unmarried man. Alternatively, it may have roots in the Greek word "zetos," meaning "seeker" or "investigator."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zito appears in a Neapolitan document from the 13th century, where a certain Matteo Zito is mentioned. There are also records of a Sicilian family with the surname Zito living in the town of Termini Imerese during the 14th century.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Giovanni Zito (1415-1489) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Naples. He served as a judge and wrote several influential treatises on law.

Another prominent individual with the surname Zito was Bartolomeo Zito (1560-1636), a Sicilian architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Palermo, including the Church of Santa Maria della Catena.

In the 19th century, Giuseppe Zito (1820-1891) was a respected Italian playwright and poet from Naples. He wrote numerous plays and comedies that were popular in his time.

A more contemporary figure was Salvatore Zito (1927-2005), a Sicilian-American mobster who was a member of the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He was involved in various criminal activities and served several years in prison.

Throughout history, variations of the name Zito have included Ziti, Zitti, and Zitto, which may have been influenced by different regional dialects or linguistic evolutions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zito

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

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

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

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