Explore the Family Name Belo

The meaning of Belo

Portuguese and Galician: nickname for a handsome man (perhaps in some instances ironically for an ugly one), from belo ‘handsome’. Compare Velo and Spanish Bello. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Carlos, Jose, Manuel, Alfredo, Amalia, Armando, Emilia, Florencio, Francisca, Luiz, Nilo, Panfilo. Portuguese Joao.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Belo in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Belo has seen an increase in popularity over the last decade. In the year 2000, the name ranked 38,771st in terms of popularity, but by 2010 it had risen to 35,489th, marking an 8.47% increase in rank. The actual count of people with the surname also increased from 536 in 2000 to 634 in 2010, a notable 18.28% growth. For every 100,000 people, approximately 0.21 had the surname Belo in 2010, up by 5.0% from 2000.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#38,771	#35,489	8.47%
Count	536	634	18.28%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.21	5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Belo

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Belo. There was a significant shift in the distribution of ethnicity between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals with this surname who identify as White decreased by 10.09%, while those identifying as Hispanic saw a substantial increase of 61.40%. The proportion of those identifying as Black also increased slightly by 10.55%, and the Asian/Pacific Islander category saw a modest rise of 8.29%. Notably, there were no individuals who identified as belonging to two or more races, or as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	61.57%	55.36%	-10.09%
Hispanic	10.26%	16.56%	61.4%
Black	12.13%	13.41%	10.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander	11.94%	12.93%	8.29%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%