2000
#12,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,297
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Rizzuto
An Italian occupational surname referring to a curly-haired person or a maker of curly wigs or hats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,351 Americans carry the last name Rizzuto. That puts it at #14,067 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,791 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rizzuto 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
2.4K
1 in 145,791
Census rank
#14,067
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,050 bearers of the surname Rizzuto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14067th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rizzuto, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rizzuto
The surname Rizzuto is of Italian origin, specifically from the southern regions of Italy. It is derived from the Italian word "riccio," meaning "curly hair," and likely originated as a nickname for someone with curly or kinky hair.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rizzuto can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Barese," a collection of documents from the region of Bari, dating back to the 11th century. In this document, a man named "Risutto" is mentioned, which is believed to be an early spelling variation of Rizzuto.
During the medieval period, the Rizzuto name was prevalent in the regions of Campania and Calabria. In the 14th century, a notable figure named Giovanni Rizzuto was a landowner and nobleman in the town of Salerno, in the Campania region.
The name Rizzuto can also be traced back to the town of Rizzuto, located in the province of Vibo Valentia, Calabria. It is possible that the surname originated from this place name, or that the place name was derived from an early bearer of the surname.
In the 16th century, a prominent family with the surname Rizzuto rose to prominence in the city of Naples. Girolamo Rizzuto (1508-1591) was a renowned architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Naples, including the Palazzo Reale.
Another notable figure with the surname Rizzuto was Tommaso Rizzuto (1776-1848), a Sicilian painter and sculptor who was known for his works depicting religious and mythological scenes.
During the 19th century, the Rizzuto surname spread across Italy and beyond, as many Italians emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable bearer of the name was Giuseppe Rizzuto (1839-1920), an Italian-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the coal industry in Pennsylvania.
In the 20th century, the Rizzuto name gained further recognition with figures like Phil Rizzuto (1917-2007), an American baseball player and broadcaster who played for the New York Yankees and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rizzuto
Among Census respondents with the surname Rizzuto, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rizzuto 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 Rizzuto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 1,874
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 111
- Two or more races1.8% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rizzuto
Rizzuto 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
#13,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,316
+19 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 796 places
2020
#14,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,050
-266 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 872 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,399 | 2,297 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,195 | 2,316 | 0.79 | +19 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 796 places |
| 2020 | #14,067 | 2,050 | 0.69 | -266 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 872 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 Rizzuto 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 | #13,195 | #14,067 | -6.6% |
| Count | 2,316 | 2,050 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.69 | -13.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rizzuto bearers went from 2,316 to 2,050 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 872 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,195 to #14,067.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rizzuto
FAQ
Rizzuto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rizzuto?
Name Census estimates that about 2,351 living Americans carry the surname Rizzuto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,791 residents.
How common is Rizzuto?
Rizzuto ranks #14,067 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,050 people with the surname Rizzuto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,351), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Rizzuto.
Has Rizzuto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rizzuto went from 2,316 recorded bearers to 2,050. That is a decrease of 266 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,195 to #14,067.
What does the Census say about the background of Rizzuto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rizzuto, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rizzuto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (1,874 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rizzuto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (5.4%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rizzuto (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 Rizzuto mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a curly-haired person or a maker of curly wigs or hats. 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 Rizzuto (0.69 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 Rizzuto?
You can see how many people have the last name Rizzuto on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.