Explore the Family Name Carneiro

The meaning of Carneiro

Portuguese: from carneiro ‘ram’ (from an unattested Latin word carnariu, a derivative of caro ‘flesh’), applied as a nickname for a good-natured person. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Antonio, Jose, Manuel, Carlos, Mario, Americo, Claudio, Enrique, Aida, Aires, Alberto, Alda, Alfredo. Portuguese Joao, Ademir, Aloisio, Heitor.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Carneiro has significantly increased in popularity from 2000 to 2010. Ranked 35,288th in 2000, it jumped to 23,185th by 2010, marking a 34.3% rise in ranking. The count of individuals with this surname also saw an impressive increase of 82.12%, moving from 604 in 2000 to 1,100 in 2010. This translates to a proportion per 100,000 people rise from 0.22 to 0.37, reflecting an overall popularity growth of 68.18%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,288	#23,185	34.3%
Count	604	1,100	82.12%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.37	68.18%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Carneiro

Regarding ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010 for the surname Carneiro. The percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders with this surname increased slightly to 3.55% from 2.81%. However, those identifying as two or more races dropped to zero. In contrast, there was a noticeable rise in individuals identifying as white from 71.85% to 82.55%. The Hispanic representation decreased slightly to 11.55% from 13.25%, while those identifying as Black appeared in the 2010 data at 1.45%. No changes were noted for the American Indian and Alaskan Native category, which remained consistent at zero.

	2000	2010	Change
White	71.85%	82.55%	14.89%
Hispanic	13.25%	11.55%	-12.83%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.81%	3.55%	26.33%
Black	0%	1.45%	0%
Two or More Races	11.26%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%