Find out how popular the last name Baccala is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Baccala.

Baccala, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Baccala surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Baccala in America

Baccala is the 120901st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Baccala surname appeared 143 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Baccala.

We can also compare 2010 data for Baccala to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Baccala

The surname BACCALA has its origins in Italy, specifically in the regions of Campania and Sicily. It is derived from the Italian word "baccalà," which means "salt cod" or "dried and salted cod." The name likely originated during the medieval period, perhaps as early as the 11th or 12th century, when the salting and drying of cod fish became a significant industry in these coastal regions.

The earliest known records of the name BACCALA can be traced back to the 13th century in various municipal and ecclesiastical records from Naples and Palermo. It is believed that the name was initially associated with individuals involved in the fishing, processing, or trading of salt cod, which was a staple food and an important commodity during that time.

In the 14th century, the BACCALA surname appears in the "Codice Diplomatico Barese," a collection of documents related to the city of Bari, in the Apulian region of southern Italy. This suggests that the name may have also been present in other parts of the Italian peninsula beyond Campania and Sicily.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname BACCALA was Giovanni BACCALA, a merchant from Palermo who lived in the late 13th century and was involved in the trade of salt cod with other Mediterranean regions.

Another notable figure was Niccolò BACCALA, a fisherman and salt cod processor from the island of Procida, near Naples, who lived in the early 15th century. He is mentioned in local records as having supplied salt cod to the Neapolitan court and nearby monasteries.

In the 16th century, the BACCALA surname can be found in the records of the Sicilian city of Messina, where several families with this name were engaged in the fishing and salt cod trade. One such individual was Vincenzo BACCALA, a prominent merchant who exported salt cod to other parts of Italy and the Mediterranean region.

During the 17th century, a branch of the BACCALA family migrated from Sicily to the Spanish-ruled Kingdom of Naples, where they continued to be involved in the salt cod industry. One member of this family, Giuseppe BACCALA, born in 1632, was known for his innovative methods of preserving and packaging salt cod for long-distance trade.

In the 18th century, the BACCALA surname spread to other parts of Italy, including the regions of Liguria and Tuscany, where some families adopted alternate spellings such as "BACCALÀ" or "BACCALÀ."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Baccala

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Baccala.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Baccala was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Baccala has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Baccala was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Baccala, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!