2000
#8,414
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,608
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.34
Rare Last name
Cirillo
Derived from the Italian word "cirro," meaning a curl or lock of hair, likely referring to someone with curly hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,774 Americans carry the last name Cirillo. That puts it at #9,457 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 90,820 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cirillo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cirillo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 90,820
Census rank
#9,457
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,291 bearers of the surname Cirillo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9457th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cirillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cirillo
The surname Cirillo originates from Italy, with its roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Latin name Cyrillus, which itself comes from the Greek word "kyrios," meaning "lord" or "master."
The earliest known records of the name Cirillo can be traced back to the 12th century in the southern Italian regions of Campania and Calabria. It is likely that the name was initially adopted by families who settled in these areas during the Norman conquest of southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Pietro Cirillo, a prominent lawyer and judge who lived in Naples in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in several legal documents from that time period.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the Aragonese court of Naples, with several individuals bearing the surname Cirillo serving as advisors and officials to the royal family.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further prominence with the scholar and philosopher Battista Cirillo, born in Grumento Nova, Basilicata, in 1475. He was a renowned humanist and wrote several influential works on philosophy and literature.
Another notable figure was Domenico Cirillo, a prominent botanist and physician born in Grumo Nevano, near Naples, in 1739. He made significant contributions to the study of plant life and was a member of several prestigious scientific academies.
In the 19th century, the name Cirillo was associated with the Italian unification movement, with Ferdinando Cirillo, born in Palermo in 1820, being a prominent political activist and supporter of Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand.
Other notable individuals with the surname Cirillo include the 20th-century Italian film director Renato Cirillo, born in Naples in 1926, and the Italian-American mobster John Cirillo, also known as "Johnny Dio," who was a prominent figure in the New York City criminal underworld in the 1970s and 1980s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cirillo
Among Census respondents with the surname Cirillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Cirillo 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 Cirillo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 2,995
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 190
- Two or more races2.0% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 27
- Black or African American0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cirillo
Cirillo appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,870
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,692
+84 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 456 places
2020
#9,457
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,291
-401 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 587 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,414 | 3,608 | 1.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,870 | 3,692 | 1.25 | +84 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 456 places |
| 2020 | #9,457 | 3,291 | 1.10 | -401 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 587 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 Cirillo 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 | #8,870 | #9,457 | -6.6% |
| Count | 3,692 | 3,291 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.25 | 1.10 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cirillo bearers went from 3,692 to 3,291 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 587 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,870 to #9,457.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cirillo
FAQ
Cirillo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cirillo?
Name Census estimates that about 3,774 living Americans carry the surname Cirillo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 90,820 residents.
How common is Cirillo?
Cirillo ranks #9,457 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,291 people with the surname Cirillo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,774), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cirillo.
Has Cirillo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cirillo went from 3,692 recorded bearers to 3,291. That is a decrease of 401 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,870 to #9,457.
What does the Census say about the background of Cirillo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cirillo, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Cirillo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (2,995 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cirillo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (5.8%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Cirillo (2000, 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 Cirillo mean?
Derived from the Italian word "cirro," meaning a curl or lock of hair, likely referring to someone with curly hair. 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 Cirillo (1.10 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 share the surname Cirillo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.