2000
#10,301
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,867
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Campanella
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 3,179 Americans carry the last name Campanella. That puts it at #10,968 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,818 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Campanella 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
3.2K
1 in 107,818
Census rank
#10,968
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,772 bearers of the surname Campanella in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10968th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Campanella, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Campanella
The surname Campanella is of Italian origin, specifically from the regions of Campania and Calabria in southern Italy. It dates back to the Middle Ages, around the 11th century.
Campanella is derived from the Italian word "campana," which means "bell." It is believed that the name was initially given as a nickname or an occupational surname to individuals who were bell ringers, bell makers, or lived near bell towers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Campanella can be found in the 12th-century manuscript "Codice Diplomatico Normanno" from the Kingdom of Sicily, which mentions a person named Petrus Campanella.
The name Campanella is also found in the 13th-century "Cronaca di Salimbene di Adamo," a historical chronicle that references a monk named Tomaso Campanella.
In the 15th century, the philosopher and Dominican friar Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639) was a notable figure who bore this surname. He is known for his work "La Città del Sole" (The City of the Sun), a utopian philosophical work.
Another individual of note was the Italian composer and violinist Girolamo Campanella (c. 1600-1669), who was a prominent figure in the Baroque period and served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Archduke Ferdinand II in Innsbruck.
In the 19th century, the Italian composer and violinist Pietro Campanella (1824-1896) was a renowned figure in the Neapolitan School of composers.
The surname Campanella has also been associated with several place names in Italy, such as Campanella di Monteforte Irpino in the province of Avellino, and Campanella di Palermo in Sicily.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Campanella
Among Census respondents with the surname Campanella, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Campanella 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 Campanella surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 2,521
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 141
- Two or more races2.6% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- Black or African American0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Campanella
Campanella 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
#10,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,964
+97 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 462 places
2020
#10,968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,772
-192 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 205 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,301 | 2,867 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,763 | 2,964 | 1.00 | +97 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 462 places |
| 2020 | #10,968 | 2,772 | 0.93 | -192 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 205 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 Campanella 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 | #10,763 | #10,968 | -1.9% |
| Count | 2,964 | 2,772 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.93 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Campanella bearers went from 2,964 to 2,772 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 205 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,763 to #10,968.
FAQ
Campanella surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Campanella?
Name Census estimates that about 3,179 living Americans carry the surname Campanella. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,818 residents.
How common is Campanella?
Campanella ranks #10,968 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 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 2,772 people with the surname Campanella. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,179), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 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 Campanella.
Has Campanella become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Campanella went from 2,964 recorded bearers to 2,772. That is a decrease of 192 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,763 to #10,968.
What does the Census say about the background of Campanella?
Among Census respondents with the surname Campanella, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Campanella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (2,521 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Campanella appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Campanella (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 Campanella 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 Campanella (0.93 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 Americans have the surname Campanella?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.