2000
#18,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,402
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Candia
A locational surname referring to someone from Candia, the Italian name for Heraklion, Crete, or from Candia Canavese, Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,171 Americans carry the last name Candia. That puts it at #14,988 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,879 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Candia 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
2.2K
1 in 157,879
Census rank
#14,988
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,893 bearers of the surname Candia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14988th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Candia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.6%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Candia
The surname Candia is believed to have originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Veneto. It is thought to be derived from the Italian word "candido," which means "white" or "pure." This suggests that the name may have been used to describe someone with light-colored hair or a fair complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Candia can be found in the 13th century. A document from the city of Venice, dated 1268, mentions a person named Nicolo Candia. This indicates that the name was already in use by that time in the area around Venice.
During the medieval period, the Candia surname was also present in other parts of Italy, such as Tuscany and Umbria. Records from the 14th and 15th centuries show the name appearing in various forms, including Candio, Candeli, and Candeli.
In the 16th century, a notable individual bearing the surname Candia was Vincenzo Candia, a Venetian painter who lived from around 1530 to 1608. He was known for his religious paintings and frescoes, which can still be found in churches throughout Venice.
Another notable Candia was Alessandro Candia, a mathematician and astronomer from Milan who lived from 1635 to 1712. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and worked as a professor at the University of Padua.
In the 18th century, the Candia surname gained prominence in the region of Piedmont, particularly in the city of Turin. One notable figure from this time was Carlo Candia, a lawyer and politician who served as a magistrate in Turin from 1765 to 1782.
The name Candia also has connections to the island of Crete, which was formerly known as Candia when it was under Venetian rule from the 13th to the 17th century. It is possible that some individuals with the surname Candia may have originated from or had ancestors who lived on the island during this period.
Other notable individuals with the surname Candia include Gian Battista Candia, an Italian painter from the 17th century, and Flavio Candia, a Venetian composer and music teacher who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Candia
Among Census respondents with the surname Candia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.6%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Candia 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 Candia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino81.6% · 1,544
- White11.7% · 222
- Black or African American3.9% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 35
- Two or more races0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Candia
Candia 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
#14,979
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,973
+571 bearers (+40.7%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 3,284 places
2020
#14,988
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,893
-80 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,263 | 1,402 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,979 | 1,973 | 0.67 | +571 bearers (+40.7%) | Up 3,284 places |
| 2020 | #14,988 | 1,893 | 0.63 | -80 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 9 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 Candia 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 | #14,979 | #14,988 | -0.1% |
| Count | 1,973 | 1,893 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.63 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Candia bearers went from 1,973 to 1,893 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,979 to #14,988.
FAQ
Candia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Candia?
Name Census estimates that about 2,171 living Americans carry the surname Candia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,879 residents.
How common is Candia?
Candia ranks #14,988 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,893 people with the surname Candia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,171), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Candia.
Has Candia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Candia went from 1,973 recorded bearers to 1,893. That is a decrease of 80 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,979 to #14,988.
What does the Census say about the background of Candia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Candia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.6%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (3.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Candia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (1,544 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Candia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (81.6%), White (11.7%), Black (3.9%). 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 Candia (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 Candia mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Candia, the Italian name for Heraklion, Crete, or from Candia Canavese, Italy. 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 Candia (0.63 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 Candia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.