Find out how popular the last name Buttigieg is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Buttigieg.

Buttigieg, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Buttigieg surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Buttigieg in America

Buttigieg is the 86314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Buttigieg surname appeared 216 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Buttigieg.

We can also compare 2010 data for Buttigieg to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Buttigieg

The surname Buttigieg originated in Malta, a small Mediterranean island nation located south of Sicily, Italy. It is derived from the Maltese words "barra" meaning outside and "diegħ" meaning thirsty or parched, likely referring to someone who lived outside the city walls or in a dry, arid area.

The earliest known record of the Buttigieg name dates back to the late 15th century, appearing in parish records and official documents from the island of Malta. At that time, the name was often spelled slightly differently, such as "Buttiggich" or "Buttiggiegh".

During the period of the Knights Hospitaller's rule over Malta, which began in 1530, the Buttigieg family name is mentioned in several chronicles and historical accounts. One notable reference is to a Girolamo Buttigieg, a Maltese soldier who fought bravely against the Ottoman invaders during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

By the 18th century, the Buttigieg name had spread beyond Malta to other parts of the Mediterranean and Europe. In 1732, a Pietro Buttigieg was born in the Italian city of Naples, where a branch of the family had settled.

Another prominent individual with the Buttigieg surname was Salvatore Buttigieg, a Maltese artist and sculptor who lived from 1787 to 1866. His works can still be found in various churches and public buildings across Malta.

In the 19th century, the name began to appear in records from other parts of the world as Maltese immigrants settled in places like Australia, the United States, and Canada. One notable figure from this era was Enrico Buttigieg, a Maltese-American businessman and philanthropist born in 1846, who made his fortune in the mining industry in the American West.

Other notable individuals with the Buttigieg surname include Carmelo Buttigieg, a Maltese politician and journalist who lived from 1909 to 1988, and Joseph Buttigieg, an American literary critic and professor of English, born in 1947, who specialized in the works of Antonio Gramsci.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Buttigieg

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Buttigieg.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Buttigieg was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Buttigieg has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Buttigieg was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Buttigieg, please contact us.

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