Explore the Family Name Ortolano
The meaning of Ortolano
1. Italian: occupational name for a cultivator or seller of fruit and vegetables, ortolano ‘gardener’, from a derivative of orto ‘vegetable garden’ (from Latin hortus ‘garden’). The term was also used in the medieval period to denote both a cleric with a fervant devotion to pastoral work, and a rough or uncouth person, and in some instances may have been applied as a nickname in either sense. 2. Italian: possibly, in some instances, a nickname from the vernacular name of a kind of bunting (Emberiza hortulana), prized as a delicacy by Mediterranean gourmets. 3. Spanish: occupational name from a variant of Old Spanish hortolano ‘cultivator or seller of vegetables’. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Angelo, Carmela, Francesca, Girolamo, Pasquale, Salvatore.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Ortolano in the United States?
The surname Ortolano experienced a rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In the year 2000, Ortolano ranked 49,869th in the list of popular surnames, but by 2010 it had ascended to position 44,109, marking a notable increase of 11.55%. The count of people bearing the Ortolano surname also grew during this decade, from 395 individuals in 2000 to 488 in 2010 – an upswing of 23.54%. Consequently, the proportion of people named Ortolano per 100,000 of the population rose by 13.33% over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #49,869 | #44,109 | 11.55% |
| Count | 395 | 488 | 23.54% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.15 | 0.17 | 13.33% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ortolano
On the matter of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the overwhelming majority of individuals with the Ortolano surname identify as White. This demographic represented 95.95% of the total in 2000, and despite a slight drop of 1.76%, it remained the largest group at 94.26% in 2010. The second most prevalent ethnicity among Ortolanos was Hispanic, which saw a significant growth of 109.45% from 2000 to 2010. Notably, people identifying as Black or belonging to two or more races started appearing in the Ortolano group in 2010, while the census recorded no individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity for either year.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.95% | 94.26% | -1.76% |
| Hispanic | 1.27% | 2.66% | 109.45% |
| Black | 0% | 1.23% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 1.77% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |