Carlo
Usually a surname formed from the personal name Carlo, the Italian and broader Romance form of Charles.
The #8,395 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,322 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Carlo is best understood as a surname taken from the given name Carlo, the Italian form of Charles. That personal name ultimately goes back to a Germanic root meaning “man” or “free man,” passed into Latin as Carolus and then into Romance languages. In surname use, Carlo would originally have meant “descendant of or associated with Carlo.”
History
The form is most familiar in Italian-speaking contexts, where Carlo has long been a common given name and, by extension, a surname. In English-language surname dictionaries, related forms such as Carolus and Carlo are often grouped with the wider Charles/Carroll family of names. Because the excerpts provided do not include a direct entry for Carlo itself, this explanation is based on the standard onomastic pattern for the name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same ancient name-family behind Carlo also produced Charles, Carl, Carolus, and Carroll in different languages.
From the historical record
“Canus Carlo Celcott Campo”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)