2000
#25,272
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 920
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Very Rare Last name
Barbagallo
A surname of Italian origin meaning "uncles" or "barba" in reference to an elder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 999 Americans carry the last name Barbagallo. That puts it at #29,014 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 343,097 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barbagallo surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
999
1 in 343,097
Census rank
#29,014
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
871
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 871 bearers of the surname Barbagallo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29014th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barbagallo, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barbagallo
The surname Barbagallo has its origins in Italy, specifically in the regions of Sicily and Calabria. It is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages or the early Renaissance period, around the 15th or 16th century.
The name Barbagallo is thought to be derived from the Italian word "barba," meaning beard, and the word "gallo," which can refer to either a rooster or the French region of Gaul. One theory suggests that the name may have been given to someone with a particularly prominent beard, or it could have been used to describe someone from the region of Gaul who had a beard.
Records from the 16th and 17th centuries show that the Barbagallo surname was present in various parts of Sicily and Calabria. In the town of Palermo, Sicily, there are mentions of a noble family with the surname Barbagallo in documents from the 1600s.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Barbagallo was Giuseppe Barbagallo, a philosopher and writer who lived in Sicily in the late 17th century (1658-1721). Another notable figure was Camillo Barbagallo (1740-1810), an Italian painter and engraver from Palermo.
In the 19th century, the name appears in historical records associated with several Sicilian scholars and intellectuals, such as Corrado Barbagallo (1877-1952), a historian and university professor, and Francesco Barbagallo (1865-1944), a lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Italian parliament.
Another prominent individual with the surname was Domenico Barbagallo (1901-1976), an Italian lawyer and politician who served as the President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly in the 1950s and 1960s.
The name Barbagallo has also been linked to specific locations in Sicily and Calabria, such as the town of Barbagallo in the province of Catania, Sicily, and the village of Barbagallo in the province of Reggio Calabria.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barbagallo
Among Census respondents with the surname Barbagallo, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Barbagallo bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Barbagallo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 801
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 51
- Two or more races1.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barbagallo
Barbagallo appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#25,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 947
+27 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 663 places
2020
#29,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 871
-76 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 3,079 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,272 | 920 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #25,935 | 947 | 0.32 | +27 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 663 places |
| 2020 | #29,014 | 871 | 0.29 | -76 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 3,079 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Barbagallo surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #25,935 | #29,014 | -11.9% |
| Count | 947 | 871 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.32 | 0.29 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barbagallo bearers went from 947 to 871 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 3,079 positions in the national ranking, going from #25,935 to #29,014.
FAQ
Barbagallo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barbagallo?
Name Census estimates that about 999 living Americans carry the surname Barbagallo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 343,097 residents.
How common is Barbagallo?
Barbagallo ranks #29,014 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 871 people with the surname Barbagallo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (999), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Barbagallo.
Has Barbagallo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barbagallo went from 947 recorded bearers to 871. That is a decrease of 76 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #25,935 to #29,014.
What does the Census say about the background of Barbagallo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barbagallo, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Barbagallo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (801 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barbagallo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (5.9%), Two or More Races (1.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Barbagallo (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Barbagallo mean?
A surname of Italian origin meaning "uncles" or "barba" in reference to an elder. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Barbagallo (0.29 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Barbagallo?
Want to know how many people are called Barbagallo? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.