2000
#8,636
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,505
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.30
Rare Last name
Campana
An Italian occupational surname referring to a bell-ringer or a person living near a bell tower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,914 Americans carry the last name Campana. That puts it at #9,178 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,571 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Campana 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
3.9K
1 in 87,571
Census rank
#9,178
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,413 bearers of the surname Campana in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9178th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Campana, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Campana
The surname Campana originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "campana," which means "bell." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a bell tower or worked as a bell ringer.
Campana is a locational surname, meaning it referred to a place where the original bearers were from. It is believed to have originated in the region of Campania in southern Italy, which was named after the fertile Campanian plain. The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century.
In the 14th century, a notable figure with the surname Campana was Giacomo Campana (c. 1300-1363), an Italian jurist and statesman who served as the chancellor of the Kingdom of Naples. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Robert of Anjou.
During the Renaissance, the Campana family was a wealthy and influential noble family in Rome. The most famous member was Giovanni Pietro Campana (1508-1580), a wealthy banker and art collector who amassed an impressive collection of ancient Roman sculptures and artifacts. His collection, known as the Campana Collection, is now housed in various museums around the world, including the Louvre in Paris.
In the 17th century, another notable figure with the surname Campana was Andrea Campana (1625-1698), an Italian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of optics and was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei, an important scientific academy in Rome.
In the 19th century, the Campana surname was also associated with the Italian Risorgimento movement, which aimed to unify the various states of the Italian peninsula into a single nation. One of the leaders of this movement was Cesare Campana (1811-1877), a patriot and revolutionary from the Marche region.
Other historical figures with the surname Campana include Girolamo Campana (1549-1625), an Italian painter and architect active in Rome during the Baroque period, and Tommaso Campana (1668-1740), an Italian composer and violinist who worked in the court of the Dukes of Mantua.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Campana
Among Census respondents with the surname Campana, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Campana 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 Campana surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.0% · 2,183
- Hispanic or Latino30.1% · 1,027
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 136
- Two or more races1.6% · 54
- Black or African American0.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Campana
Campana 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
#8,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,920
+415 bearers (+11.8%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Up 207 places
2020
#9,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,413
-507 bearers (-12.9%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Down 749 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,636 | 3,505 | 1.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,429 | 3,920 | 1.33 | +415 bearers (+11.8%) | Up 207 places |
| 2020 | #9,178 | 3,413 | 1.14 | -507 bearers (-12.9%) | Down 749 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 Campana 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 | #8,429 | #9,178 | -8.9% |
| Count | 3,920 | 3,413 | -12.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.14 | -14.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Campana bearers went from 3,920 to 3,413 (-12.9% change). The surname moved down 749 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,429 to #9,178.
FAQ
Campana surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Campana?
Name Census estimates that about 3,914 living Americans carry the surname Campana. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,571 residents.
How common is Campana?
Campana ranks #9,178 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.14 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 3,413 people with the surname Campana. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,914), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.14 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 Campana.
Has Campana become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Campana went from 3,920 recorded bearers to 3,413. That is a decrease of 507 (-12.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,429 to #9,178.
What does the Census say about the background of Campana?
Among Census respondents with the surname Campana, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%). 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 Campana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.0% (2,183 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Campana appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.0%), Hispanic (30.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%). 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 Campana (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 Campana mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a bell-ringer or a person living near a bell tower. 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 Campana (1.14 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 Campana?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Campana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.