2000
#13,181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Candela
A Spanish and Italian occupational surname referring to a candle maker or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,650 Americans carry the last name Candela. That puts it at #12,754 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,341 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Candela 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
2.6K
1 in 129,341
Census rank
#12,754
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,311 bearers of the surname Candela in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12754th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Candela, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Candela
The surname Candela is of Italian origin, originating in the regions of Campania and Sicily during the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "candela," meaning "candle," which may have been an occupational name for a candlemaker or a descriptive name referring to someone who lived near a candlemaker's shop or a place associated with candles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Candela can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Barese," a collection of historical documents from the city of Bari, dating back to the 11th century. In these documents, the name appears in various spellings, such as "Candela" and "Candela."
During the 13th century, the name Candela was mentioned in several Sicilian records, including the "Tabulario della Magione di Palermo," a collection of documents related to the Magione di Palermo, a religious institution in Sicily. These records provide evidence of the presence of the Candela family in Sicily during this period.
One notable individual bearing the surname Candela was Giovanni Candela, a Sicilian painter who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His works can be found in various churches and museums in Sicily, including the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi in Palermo.
Another prominent figure was Girolamo Candela, a renowned architect and sculptor from Naples who lived in the late 16th century. He is best known for his contributions to the Certosa di San Martino, a monumental Carthusian monastery in Naples, where he designed and sculpted several important architectural elements.
In the 17th century, the Candela family gained prominence in the Kingdom of Naples, with members holding important positions in the government and the military. One notable individual was Gennaro Candela, a nobleman and military leader who served as the Governor of Naples in the 1640s.
During the 18th century, the Candela family continued to be influential in southern Italy, with several members holding high-ranking positions in the Church and the legal profession. One such individual was Tommaso Candela, a prominent lawyer and judge from the city of Lecce, who served as the president of the city's court of appeals in the late 1700s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Candela
Among Census respondents with the surname Candela, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Candela 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 Candela surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.1% · 1,459
- Hispanic or Latino32.9% · 760
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 40
- Two or more races1.3% · 31
- Black or African American0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Candela
Candela 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
#13,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,346
+221 bearers (+10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 97 places
2020
#12,754
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,311
-35 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 330 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,181 | 2,125 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,084 | 2,346 | 0.80 | +221 bearers (+10.4%) | Up 97 places |
| 2020 | #12,754 | 2,311 | 0.77 | -35 bearers (-1.5%) | Up 330 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 Candela 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 | #13,084 | #12,754 | 2.5% |
| Count | 2,346 | 2,311 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.77 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Candela bearers went from 2,346 to 2,311 (-1.5% change). The surname moved up 330 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,084 to #12,754.
FAQ
Candela surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Candela?
Name Census estimates that about 2,650 living Americans carry the surname Candela. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,341 residents.
How common is Candela?
Candela ranks #12,754 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,311 people with the surname Candela. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,650), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Candela.
Has Candela become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Candela went from 2,346 recorded bearers to 2,311. That is a decrease of 35 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,084 to #12,754.
What does the Census say about the background of Candela?
Among Census respondents with the surname Candela, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (32.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Candela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.1% (1,459 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Candela appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.1%), Hispanic (32.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Candela (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 Candela mean?
A Spanish and Italian occupational surname referring to a candle maker or seller. 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 Candela (0.77 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 have the surname Candela?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.