2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Berryessa
A surname derived from a place name meaning "berry meadow" in Spanish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Berryessa. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Berryessa 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Berryessa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Berryessa, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Berryessa
The surname Berryessa originated in Italy and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "bere" meaning "to drink" and "essa" which is a feminine suffix, suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked in a tavern or was involved in the production of wine or other alcoholic beverages.
The name is thought to have originated in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, where it was first recorded in the town of Berria, near the city of Asti. The earliest known record of the name dates back to 1287, when a certain Giovanni Berryessa was listed as a landowner in the area.
In the 14th century, the name began to appear in various official records and documents, such as tax rolls and property deeds, across the Piedmont region and neighboring areas of northwestern Italy. It is possible that the name spread as families migrated to other parts of the country or established branches in different locations.
One notable historical figure bearing the surname Berryessa was Francesco Berryessa, a 16th-century Italian architect and engineer who was involved in the construction of several notable buildings and fortifications in the city of Turin. He was born in 1512 and died in 1589.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Giacomo Berryessa, a 17th-century Italian composer and musician who was employed by the court of the Duke of Savoy in Turin. He was born around 1620 and is believed to have died in the late 1600s.
In the 18th century, the name Berryessa began to appear in records outside of Italy, as Italian immigrants and their descendants settled in other parts of Europe and the Americas. One example is Antonio Berryessa, a Spanish-born explorer and cartographer who worked for the Spanish government in the late 18th century, mapping parts of what is now California.
During the 19th century, the name Berryessa continued to spread across various regions, with individuals bearing this surname found in places like France, Argentina, and the United States. One notable figure from this period was Giuseppe Berryessa, an Italian-born writer and journalist who lived in Argentina from 1840 to 1912.
Finally, in the 20th century, the name Berryessa gained recognition in the United States through the work of Vittorio Berryessa, an Italian-American businessman and philanthropist who founded a successful construction company in California. He was born in Italy in 1902 and immigrated to the United States in the 1920s, passing away in 1985.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berryessa
Among Census respondents with the surname Berryessa, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Berryessa 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 Berryessa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.2% · 74
- Hispanic or Latino34.2% · 40
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Berryessa
Berryessa 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+4 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,960 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-19 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,252 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +4 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 4,960 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 18,252 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 Berryessa 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 | #126,018 | #144,270 | -14.5% |
| Count | 136 | 117 | -14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Berryessa bearers went from 136 to 117 (-14.0% change). The surname moved down 18,252 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #144,270.
FAQ
Berryessa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Berryessa?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Berryessa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Berryessa?
Berryessa ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Berryessa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Berryessa.
Has Berryessa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Berryessa went from 136 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 19 (-14.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Berryessa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Berryessa, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.2%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Berryessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (74 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Berryessa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.2%), Hispanic (34.2%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Berryessa (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 Berryessa mean?
A surname derived from a place name meaning "berry meadow" in Spanish. 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 Berryessa (0.04 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 share the surname Berryessa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.