2000
#22,612
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,061
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.39
Rare Last name
Calabria
A surname originating from the Italian region of the same name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,268 Americans carry the last name Calabria. That puts it at #23,658 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 270,311 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Calabria 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
1.3K
1 in 270,311
Census rank
#23,658
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,106 bearers of the surname Calabria in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23658th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Calabria, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Calabria
The surname Calabria is of Italian origin, deriving from the region of Calabria in southern Italy. This region takes its name from the ancient Greek word Καλαυρία (Kalauria), meaning "beautiful country". The name Calabria can be traced back to the 10th century, when the region was under Byzantine rule.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Calabria appears in a document from the 12th century, referring to a nobleman named Roberto de Calabria. This suggests that the surname was already in use as a locational identifier during the Norman conquest of southern Italy.
In the 13th century, a Florentine merchant named Guglielmo di Calabria is mentioned in several trade records, indicating the spread of the surname beyond its original region. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled as Calavria or Calauria, reflecting its Greek roots.
A notable bearer of the surname was Raffaele Calabria, a 15th-century painter from Naples who was known for his religious works adorning churches throughout southern Italy. His paintings can still be seen in the Church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the historic records of the Kingdom of Naples, with a mention of a nobleman named Pietro Calabria who served as a military commander during the Italian Wars.
Another prominent figure with the surname was Giacomo Calabria, a 17th-century philosopher and scholar from Cosenza. He authored several treatises on ethics and metaphysics, which were widely read throughout Europe at the time.
During the 18th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Antonio Calabria, a renowned Italian composer and violinist. Born in 1733 in Naples, he is remembered for his contributions to the development of the classical concerto form.
In the 19th century, a famous bearer of the surname was Giuseppe Calabria, an Italian patriot and revolutionary who played a significant role in the unification of Italy. He was born in Reggio Calabria in 1821 and fought alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi in the Expedition of the Thousand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Calabria
Among Census respondents with the surname Calabria, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Calabria 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 Calabria surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 1,007
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 71
- Two or more races1.4% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 9
- Black or African American0.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Calabria
Calabria 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
#22,892
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,118
+57 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Down 280 places
2020
#23,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,106
-12 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 766 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,612 | 1,061 | 0.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #22,892 | 1,118 | 0.38 | +57 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 280 places |
| 2020 | #23,658 | 1,106 | 0.37 | -12 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 766 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 Calabria 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 | #22,892 | #23,658 | -3.3% |
| Count | 1,118 | 1,106 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.38 | 0.37 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Calabria bearers went from 1,118 to 1,106 (-1.1% change). The surname moved down 766 positions in the national ranking, going from #22,892 to #23,658.
FAQ
Calabria surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Calabria?
Name Census estimates that about 1,268 living Americans carry the surname Calabria. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 270,311 residents.
How common is Calabria?
Calabria ranks #23,658 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 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 1,106 people with the surname Calabria. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 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 Calabria.
Has Calabria become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Calabria went from 1,118 recorded bearers to 1,106. That is a decrease of 12 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #22,892 to #23,658.
What does the Census say about the background of Calabria?
Among Census respondents with the surname Calabria, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Calabria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (1,007 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Calabria appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (6.4%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Calabria (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 Calabria mean?
A surname originating from the Italian region of the same name. 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 Calabria (0.37 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 Calabria?
Find out how many people have the last name Calabria on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.