2000
#83,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 211
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Tero
A surname derived from the Spanish word "tero", meaning a guardian or protector.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 252 Americans carry the last name Tero. That puts it at #90,184 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,360,136 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tero 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
252
1 in 1,360,136
Census rank
#90,184
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
220
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 220 bearers of the surname Tero in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 90184th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tero, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tero
The surname Tero is believed to have originated in Italy, with records dating back to the late 15th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Latin word "terra," meaning "earth" or "land," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have been landowners or farmers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Tero can be found in the archives of the city of Siena, where a certain Giovanni Tero was mentioned in a legal document from 1492. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region at that time.
In the 16th century, the name Tero began to spread to other parts of Italy, with records indicating families bearing this surname in cities such as Rome and Naples. It is possible that the name was carried by merchants or artisans who traveled and settled in different areas of the country.
A notable bearer of the Tero surname was Benedetto Tero, a renowned painter from the Venetian school who was active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His works can still be seen in various churches and galleries throughout Italy.
In the 17th century, the Tero family established a presence in the Kingdom of Naples, where they held land and titles. One such figure was Marcello Tero, a nobleman who served as a councilor to the Viceroy of Naples in the 1640s.
As the centuries progressed, the Tero surname continued to spread across Italy and eventually to other parts of Europe and the Americas through migration. Notable individuals with this last name include:
1. Antonio Tero (1755-1828), an Italian composer and violinist who was a contemporary of Mozart and performed in many of the great courts of Europe.
2. Giulia Tero (1810-1890), an Italian opera singer who achieved fame in the mid-19th century for her performances in major opera houses across Europe.
3. Pedro Tero (1865-1932), a Spanish-born painter who was part of the Impressionist movement and is known for his vibrant landscapes and seascapes.
4. Luigi Tero (1892-1968), an Italian-American businessman who was one of the pioneers of the tomato canning industry in California and founded the Tero Tomato Company.
5. Emilia Tero (1920-2005), an Italian writer and journalist who was a prominent voice in the feminist movement and authored several books on women's rights and social issues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tero
Among Census respondents with the surname Tero, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Tero 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 Tero surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.0% · 121
- Black or African American19.5% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.5% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tero
Tero 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
#77,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 249
+38 bearers (+18.0%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 5,992 places
2020
#90,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 220
-29 bearers (-11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 13,172 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #83,004 | 211 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #77,012 | 249 | 0.08 | +38 bearers (+18.0%) | Up 5,992 places |
| 2020 | #90,184 | 220 | 0.07 | -29 bearers (-11.6%) | Down 13,172 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 Tero 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 | #77,012 | #90,184 | -17.1% |
| Count | 249 | 220 | -11.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.07 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tero bearers went from 249 to 220 (-11.6% change). The surname moved down 13,172 positions in the national ranking, going from #77,012 to #90,184.
FAQ
Tero surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tero?
Name Census estimates that about 252 living Americans carry the surname Tero. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,360,136 residents.
How common is Tero?
Tero ranks #90,184 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 220 people with the surname Tero. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (252), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Tero.
Has Tero become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tero went from 249 recorded bearers to 220. That is a decrease of 29 (-11.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #77,012 to #90,184.
What does the Census say about the background of Tero?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tero, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (19.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.5%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.0% (121 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tero appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.0%), Black (19.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (14.5%). 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 Tero (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 Tero mean?
A surname derived from the Spanish word "tero", meaning a guardian or protector. 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 Tero (0.07 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 Tero?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.