2000
#10,394
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,841
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Butera
Derived from the Italian place name Butera, indicating someone's origins in that Sicilian town.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,141 Americans carry the last name Butera. That puts it at #11,070 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,123 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Butera 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
3.1K
1 in 109,123
Census rank
#11,070
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,739 bearers of the surname Butera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11070th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Butera, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Butera
The surname BUTERA originates from Italy and dates back several centuries. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "buttera," which refers to a cowherder or a person who tends to cattle. The name is particularly associated with the regions of Sicily and Calabria in southern Italy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the BUTERA surname can be found in the Sicilian city of Butera, which is thought to have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name. The town itself dates back to the 11th century and has a rich history, with evidence of settlements dating back to the ancient Greek and Roman periods.
In the 14th century, the BUTERA family held significant prominence and power in Sicily. Records show that a nobleman named Pietro BUTERA was granted the title of Baron of Butera by King Frederick III of Sicily in the year 1372. This indicates that the name was well-established among the aristocratic class during that time period.
The BUTERA surname has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Vincenzo BUTERA, a 17th-century Sicilian painter known for his religious works and frescoes adorning various churches in Palermo and other cities in Sicily. He was born in 1633 and died in 1698.
Another prominent bearer of the BUTERA name was Giuseppe BUTERA, an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Sicilian Parliament in the late 19th century. He was born in 1837 and played a significant role in the political landscape of the time.
In the 20th century, Antonio BUTERA (1922-1998) was a celebrated Italian-American actor and singer. Born in Palermo, Sicily, he immigrated to the United States and gained recognition for his performances in several Broadway musicals and films, including "The Godfather Part II."
It is also worth mentioning that the BUTERA surname has been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Butera in Sicily, as well as towns and villages in other regions like Calabria and Puglia, further reinforcing its deep-rooted Italian origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Butera
Among Census respondents with the surname Butera, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Butera 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 Butera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,523
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 99
- Two or more races1.9% · 53
- Black or African American1.8% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Butera
Butera 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
#10,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,965
+124 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 364 places
2020
#11,070
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,739
-226 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 312 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,394 | 2,841 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,758 | 2,965 | 1.01 | +124 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 364 places |
| 2020 | #11,070 | 2,739 | 0.92 | -226 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 312 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 Butera 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 | #10,758 | #11,070 | -2.9% |
| Count | 2,965 | 2,739 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.92 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Butera bearers went from 2,965 to 2,739 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 312 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,758 to #11,070.
FAQ
Butera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Butera?
Name Census estimates that about 3,141 living Americans carry the surname Butera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,123 residents.
How common is Butera?
Butera ranks #11,070 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,739 people with the surname Butera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,141), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Butera.
Has Butera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Butera went from 2,965 recorded bearers to 2,739. That is a decrease of 226 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,758 to #11,070.
What does the Census say about the background of Butera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Butera, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (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 Butera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,523 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Butera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (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 Butera (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 Butera mean?
Derived from the Italian place name Butera, indicating someone's origins in that Sicilian town. 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 Butera (0.92 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 Butera?
See how common the surname Butera is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.