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

Cancilla, 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 Cancilla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cancilla in America

Cancilla is the 30101st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cancilla surname appeared 779 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 Cancilla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cancilla 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 Cancilla

The surname Cancilla has its origins in Italy, specifically in the southern region of Sicily. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.

The name Cancilla is derived from the Latin word "cancellus," which means "lattice" or "grating." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to individuals who lived near or worked with latticed structures, such as gates or fences.

Records dating back to the 13th century mention individuals bearing the surname Cancilla in various parts of Sicily. One notable early reference is found in the "Codice Diplomatico di Sicilia," a collection of historical documents from the island, where a certain Guglielmo Cancilla is mentioned in a document from 1265.

The earliest known bearer of the Cancilla surname was Simone Cancilla, who lived in the town of Palermo, Sicily, in the late 13th century. Another prominent individual was Niccolò Cancilla, a nobleman from Messina who was active in the early 15th century.

Over the centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Cancillo, Canceli, and Cancella. These variants were often influenced by regional dialects and local naming conventions.

One notable figure from history who bore the Cancilla surname was Francesco Cancilla, a renowned painter from Palermo who lived in the 17th century (1620-1685). His works can still be found in various churches and galleries throughout Sicily.

Another prominent individual was Domenico Cancilla (1768-1842), a Sicilian architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings and infrastructure projects in his native region.

In the 19th century, Giuseppe Cancilla (1822-1896) was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Italian parliament and played a role in the Italian unification movement.

It's worth noting that the surname Cancilla is still predominantly found in Sicily and other parts of southern Italy, although it has also spread to other regions and countries due to migration patterns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cancilla

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

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 Cancilla 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 Cancilla 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 Cancilla was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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