2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bricca
A descriptive Italian surname likely derived from a nickname or location referring to a ridge or hilly area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Bricca. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bricca 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Bricca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bricca, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bricca
The surname BRICCA is of Italian origin, stemming from the northern regions of the country. It first emerged during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Italian word "bricca," which translates to a small hill or mound.
In its earliest recorded instances, the surname BRICCA appeared in various historical documents and records from the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, and Emilia-Romagna. Some of the earliest documented examples include Guglielmo Bricca, a landowner from the town of Vercelli in Piedmont, mentioned in a 1387 land registry. Another early record is that of Pietro Bricca, a merchant from Milan, whose name appears in a trade agreement dated 1412.
The surname BRICCA is also linked to certain place names in northern Italy, such as Bricca di Noli, a small village in the province of Savona, and Bricca Montemerlo, a hill near the city of Parma. These place names likely influenced the adoption of the surname by families residing in or near these locations.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname BRICCA. One such person was Bartolomeo Bricca (1515-1589), a renowned architect from Genoa who contributed to the design and construction of several churches and palaces in the city. Another was Girolamo Bricca (1673-1743), a Milanese painter known for his religious artwork and frescoes adorning various churches in Milan and its surrounding areas.
In the 18th century, Giuseppe Bricca (1736-1812) was a prominent jurist and legal scholar from Turin, who authored several influential treatises on civil law. Later, in the 19th century, Eugenio Bricca (1824-1897) was a celebrated Italian poet and playwright whose works reflected the cultural and social themes of the Romantic era.
Lastly, a more recent figure was Cesare Bricca (1891-1964), an Italian military officer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies during the early 20th century.
These examples illustrate the long-standing presence of the surname BRICCA in various regions of Italy, as well as its association with notable individuals from different walks of life throughout the country's history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bricca
Among Census respondents with the surname Bricca, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bricca 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 Bricca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bricca
Bricca 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+15 bearers (+15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,295 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-12 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 10,041 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+15.0%) | Up 6,295 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -12 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 10,041 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 Bricca 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 | #144,141 | #154,182 | -7.0% |
| Count | 115 | 103 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bricca bearers went from 115 to 103 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 10,041 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #154,182.
FAQ
Bricca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bricca?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Bricca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Bricca?
Bricca ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Bricca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Bricca.
Has Bricca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bricca went from 115 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Bricca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bricca, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Bricca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bricca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Bricca (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 Bricca mean?
A descriptive Italian surname likely derived from a nickname or location referring to a ridge or hilly area. 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 Bricca (0.03 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 have the surname Bricca?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.