2000
#50,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 391
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Bertelli
An Italian surname meaning "little bear" or derived from a diminutive of names like Umberto.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 469 Americans carry the last name Bertelli. That puts it at #54,407 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 730,819 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bertelli 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
469
1 in 730,819
Census rank
#54,407
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
409
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 409 bearers of the surname Bertelli in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 54407th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bertelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bertelli
The surname Bertelli originated in Italy, where it first appeared as an occupational name for someone who worked as a carter or wagon driver. It derives from the Italian word "berta", which referred to a type of wagon or cart. The earliest known bearer of the name was Guglielmo Bertelli, who lived in Florence in the late 13th century.
The Bertelli name is most closely associated with the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, particularly the cities of Bologna and Modena. In the 14th century, the Bertelli family was among the most influential noble families in Bologna, with several members serving as city councilors and ambassadors.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the Bertelli name dates back to 1311, when a certain Berto Bertelli is mentioned in the archives of the city of Modena. Another notable early bearer of the name was Giovanni Bertelli, a renowned painter who lived in Bologna in the late 15th century.
The Bertelli surname can also be found in historical records from other parts of Italy, such as Tuscany and Lombardy. In the 16th century, a branch of the Bertelli family settled in Venice, where they became respected merchants and traders.
Notable people with the Bertelli surname throughout history include:
1. Antonio Bertelli (1518-1594), an Italian historian and author from Modena.
2. Ferdinando Bertelli (1825-1909), an Italian politician and journalist from Bologna.
3. Virgilio Bertelli (1864-1938), an Italian engineer and industrialist, founder of the Bertelli Motorcycle Company.
4. Gino Bertelli (1914-1995), an Italian racing driver and constructor of sports cars.
5. Pier Luigi Bertelli (1941-2017), an Italian fashion designer and co-founder of the luxury brand Diesel.
While the Bertelli name has its roots in northern Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the country and beyond, with descendants of the original Bertelli families now found in various regions and countries around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bertelli
Among Census respondents with the surname Bertelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bertelli 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 Bertelli surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 384
- Two or more races2.7% · 11
- Black or African American1.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bertelli
Bertelli 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
#53,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 388
-3 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 3,055 places
2020
#54,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 409
+21 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 1,091 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #50,261 | 391 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53,316 | 388 | 0.13 | -3 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 3,055 places |
| 2020 | #54,407 | 409 | 0.14 | +21 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 1,091 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 Bertelli 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 | #53,316 | #54,407 | -2.0% |
| Count | 388 | 409 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.14 | 5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bertelli bearers went from 388 to 409 (+5.4% change). The surname moved down 1,091 positions in the national ranking, going from #53,316 to #54,407.
FAQ
Bertelli surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bertelli?
Name Census estimates that about 469 living Americans carry the surname Bertelli. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 730,819 residents.
How common is Bertelli?
Bertelli ranks #54,407 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 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 409 people with the surname Bertelli. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (469), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 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 Bertelli.
Has Bertelli become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bertelli went from 388 recorded bearers to 409. That is an increase of 21 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #53,316 to #54,407.
What does the Census say about the background of Bertelli?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bertelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Bertelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (384 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bertelli appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Black (1.7%). 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 Bertelli (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 Bertelli mean?
An Italian surname meaning "little bear" or derived from a diminutive of names like Umberto. 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 Bertelli (0.14 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 common is the surname Bertelli?
Want to know how common the surname Bertelli is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.