2000
#10,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,790
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Polo
An occupational surname referring to someone who raises or tends to chickens or other poultry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,143 Americans carry the last name Polo. That puts it at #8,711 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,731 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Polo 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
4.1K
1 in 82,731
Census rank
#8,711
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,613 bearers of the surname Polo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8711th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Polo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (32.4%) and Black (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Polo
The surname Polo originates from Italy and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Italian word "polo," meaning "pole" or "stake," which was likely an occupational name for someone who worked with poles or lived near a pole-marked boundary.
The name Polo is believed to have first appeared in the Republic of Venice, particularly in the city of Venice itself and the surrounding areas. It was possibly connected to the Polo family, a wealthy and influential Venetian merchant family active in the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Polo can be found in the "Cronaca di Venezia," a 13th-century Venetian chronicle that mentions Marco Polo, the famous Venetian merchant and explorer. Born in 1254, Marco Polo is renowned for his travels along the Silk Road to China and his account of his journeys, known as "Il Milione" or "The Travels of Marco Polo."
Another notable bearer of the surname Polo was Niccolò Polo, the father of Marco Polo, who was a merchant and explorer. He played a significant role in establishing trade connections between Venice and the Mongol Empire.
In the 14th century, the surname Polo was also associated with the Polo family of Treviso, a city located in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. This branch of the Polo family produced several notable individuals, including Galeazzo Polo (b. 1330), a military commander and diplomat.
The Polo surname can be traced back to various place names in Italy, such as Polo d'Enza, a comune in the province of Reggio Emilia, and Polo, a frazione (subdivision) of the comune of Torrile, also in the province of Parma.
Throughout history, the Polo surname has been associated with other distinguished individuals, including the Italian artist and architect Girolamo Polo (c. 1500-1563), known for his work on the Cathedral of Palermo in Sicily, and the Italian painter Giacomo Polo (c. 1550-1605), who was active in Padua and Venice.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Polo
Among Census respondents with the surname Polo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (32.4%) and Black (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Polo 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 Polo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino59.3% · 2,141
- White32.4% · 1,172
- Black or African American4.5% · 162
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 98
- Two or more races1.0% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Polo
Polo 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
#9,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,598
+808 bearers (+29.0%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Up 1,464 places
2020
#8,711
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,613
+15 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 373 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,548 | 2,790 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,084 | 3,598 | 1.22 | +808 bearers (+29.0%) | Up 1,464 places |
| 2020 | #8,711 | 3,613 | 1.21 | +15 bearers (+0.4%) | Up 373 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 Polo 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 | #9,084 | #8,711 | 4.1% |
| Count | 3,598 | 3,613 | 0.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.21 | -0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Polo bearers went from 3,598 to 3,613 (+0.4% change). The surname moved up 373 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,084 to #8,711.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Polo
FAQ
Polo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Polo?
Name Census estimates that about 4,143 living Americans carry the surname Polo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,731 residents.
How common is Polo?
Polo ranks #8,711 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,613 people with the surname Polo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,143), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Polo.
Has Polo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Polo went from 3,598 recorded bearers to 3,613. That is an increase of 15 (+0.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,084 to #8,711.
What does the Census say about the background of Polo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Polo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (32.4%) and Black (4.5%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Polo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.3% (2,141 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Polo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (59.3%), White (32.4%), Black (4.5%). 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 Polo (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 Polo mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who raises or tends to chickens or other poultry. 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 Polo (1.21 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 Polo?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.