How common is the surname Cato?

8,298 people in the United States had the surname Cato in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,207 Americans. It ranked 4,285th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cato?

Molly Scott Cato, British economist and Member of the European Parliament (born 1963), followed by Kelvin Cato.

Where is the surname Cato most common?

Wikidata records people named Cato in the United Kingdom and the United States.

How do you pronounce Cato?

Cato is /ˈkeɪ.toʊ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Cato getting more or less common?

More common. 7,940 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,298 in 2010, up 4.5%.

Is Cato also a first name?

Yes. Cato is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Cato

A French surname, carried by 8,298 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkeɪ.toʊ/ 2 syllables Soundex C300 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cato is more common than 97.4% of them.

Origin

French origin

From Latin Cato. A cognomen made particularly famous by Cato the Elder and Younger, members of the gens Porcia.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,298 people named Cato in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 37,207 Americans. That is up 4.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,940.

#4,285

rank among US surnames

8,298

people in 2010

2.8

per 100,000 Americans

+4.5%

change since 2000 (was #4,125)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,276	Heinz	8,311	37,149
#4,278	Griffis	8,309	37,158
#4,279	Battaglia	8,308	37,162
#4,280	Ballinger	8,306	37,171
#4,281	Vanmeter	8,305	37,176
#4,282	Lieberman	8,302	37,189
#4,284	Nathan	8,300	37,198

Who is named Cato

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

55% of people named Cato identified as white (not Hispanic), 37% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 55%
Black (not Hispanic) 37%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.5%
Two or more races 2.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Catos

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Molly Scott Cato
British economist and Member of the European Parliament (born 1963)
Kelvin Cato
American basketball player (born 1974)

Notable Catos come mostly from the United Kingdom (1) and the United States (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cato

Cato has the Soundex code C300, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C300.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Cato come from?: From Latin Cato. A cognomen made particularly famous by Cato the Elder and Younger, members of the gens Porcia.
How common is the surname Cato?: 8,298 people in the United States had the surname Cato in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,207 Americans. It ranked 4,285th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cato?: In the 2010 Census, 55% of people named Cato identified as white (not Hispanic), and 37% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Cato?: Molly Scott Cato, British economist and Member of the European Parliament (born 1963), followed by Kelvin Cato.
Where is the surname Cato most common?: Wikidata records people named Cato in the United Kingdom and the United States.
How do you pronounce Cato?: Cato is /ˈkeɪ.toʊ/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Cato getting more or less common?: More common. 7,940 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,298 in 2010, up 4.5%.
Is Cato also a first name?: Yes. Cato is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.