Castella
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "little castle".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Castella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Castella today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Castella births was 1929 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Castella. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Castella is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Castellas were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Castella. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1929
9 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
2015 SSA rank
#14,870
Tracked since 1909
Census
Castella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 127 people with the first name Castella, which placed it at #49,170 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#49,170
National first-name rank
People counted
127
127 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Castella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Castella is Black at 72.4%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Hispanic (9.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Castella described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Castella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.4% · 92
- White13.4% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 12
- Two or more races3.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Popularity
Castella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Castella from the 1900s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 61 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Castella by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Castella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Castella
The name Castella has its origins in Latin, deriving from the word "castellum," which means "fortified village" or "small castle." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with those who lived in or around fortified settlements during the Roman era.
Castella can also be traced back to the Italian word "castello," meaning "castle." It's possible that the name was adopted by Italian families who resided in or near castles or fortified towns during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Castella dates back to the 12th century. A noblewoman named Castella de Villanova was mentioned in historical records from the region of Catalonia, Spain, during this time period.
In the 13th century, a religious figure named Castella of Fabriaco was revered as a Franciscan nun in Italy. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and her name was documented in various religious texts of the time.
During the Renaissance period, the name Castella gained some prominence. Castella Gonzaga (1516-1566) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of renowned artists such as Titian and Giulio Romano.
In the 17th century, Castella Aquaviva (1619-1688) was a Spanish aristocrat and influential figure at the court of King Philip IV of Spain. She was known for her political acumen and played a significant role in the affairs of the Spanish monarchy.
Another notable figure was Castella Valenti (1760-1832), an Italian painter and engraver from the Neoclassical era. Her works were admired for their technical skill and attention to detail, and she was recognized as one of the leading female artists of her time.
Throughout history, the name Castella has been associated with individuals of nobility, religious devotion, and artistic expression, reflecting its origins rooted in fortified settlements, castles, and the cultural influences of various regions.
People
Castella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Castella as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Castella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Castella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Castella going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Castella a common name?
We classify Castella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Castella most popular?
The single biggest year for Castella was 1929, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Castella is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Castella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 127 people with the name Castella, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,170 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Castella in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Castella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Castella leans strongly female. 118 people counted with this name were female (94.4%), compared with 7 male bearers (5.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Castella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Castella is Black at 72.4%. The next largest groups are White (13.4%) and Hispanic (9.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Castella most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Castella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.4% (92 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Castella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Castella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Castella in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Castella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Castella in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Castella can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Castella?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Castella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.