2000
#13,838
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,004
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Campisi
An Italian toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Campi Salentina in the Apulia region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,073 Americans carry the last name Campisi. That puts it at #15,568 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,342 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Campisi 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
2.1K
1 in 165,342
Census rank
#15,568
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,808 bearers of the surname Campisi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15568th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Campisi, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Campisi
The surname Campisi has its origins in Sicily, Italy, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "campo," meaning "field" or "countryside," and the suffix "-isi," which indicates a place of origin or residence. The name likely originated as a way to identify individuals who lived or worked in the rural areas or fields surrounding a particular town or village.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Campisi name can be found in historical documents from the 13th century, where it appeared in various forms, such as "Campise" and "Campisi." These early records suggest that the name was already well-established in Sicily by that time.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name Campisi began to spread beyond Sicily, with families bearing this surname appearing in other parts of Italy, particularly in regions with close ties to Sicily, such as Calabria and Naples.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Campisi name was Giovanni Campisi (1492-1568), a Sicilian jurist and scholar who served as a judge and legal advisor to the Spanish rulers of Sicily. His writings on Sicilian law and customs were highly influential during his time.
Another prominent individual with the Campisi surname was Tommaso Campisi (1668-1743), an Italian architect and engineer who was responsible for the design and construction of several notable buildings in Sicily, including the Palazzo Campisi in Palermo.
In the 19th century, the Campisi name gained further recognition with the birth of Vincenzo Campisi (1806-1882), a Sicilian politician and patriot who played a significant role in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification.
As the Campisi name spread beyond Italy, it also became associated with various place names and geographic locations. For example, there is a town called Campisi in the province of Salerno, which likely took its name from the surname itself or vice versa.
Throughout history, the Campisi surname has been carried by numerous individuals who have made valuable contributions to various fields, including art, literature, politics, and science. While the name's origins can be traced back to medieval Sicily, it has since become a part of the cultural fabric of not only Italy but also other parts of the world where Sicilian and Italian immigrants have settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Campisi
Among Census respondents with the surname Campisi, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Campisi 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 Campisi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 1,643
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 91
- Two or more races2.8% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 19
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Campisi
Campisi 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
#14,155
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,122
+118 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 317 places
2020
#15,568
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,808
-314 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,413 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,838 | 2,004 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,155 | 2,122 | 0.72 | +118 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 317 places |
| 2020 | #15,568 | 1,808 | 0.60 | -314 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 1,413 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 Campisi 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 | #14,155 | #15,568 | -10.0% |
| Count | 2,122 | 1,808 | -14.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.60 | -16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Campisi bearers went from 2,122 to 1,808 (-14.8% change). The surname moved down 1,413 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,155 to #15,568.
FAQ
Campisi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Campisi?
Name Census estimates that about 2,073 living Americans carry the surname Campisi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,342 residents.
How common is Campisi?
Campisi ranks #15,568 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,808 people with the surname Campisi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,073), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Campisi.
Has Campisi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Campisi went from 2,122 recorded bearers to 1,808. That is a decrease of 314 (-14.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,155 to #15,568.
What does the Census say about the background of Campisi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Campisi, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Campisi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (1,643 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Campisi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Campisi (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 Campisi mean?
An Italian toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Campi Salentina in the Apulia region. 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 Campisi (0.60 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 people share the surname Campisi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.