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

Capelli, 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 Capelli surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Capelli in America

Capelli is the 31790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Capelli surname appeared 726 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 Capelli.

We can also compare 2010 data for Capelli 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 Capelli

The surname Capelli originated in Italy during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "capelli," which means "hair" or "locks of hair." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone with particularly notable hair.

The Capelli surname is believed to have first emerged in the region of Lombardy, in northern Italy, during the 13th or 14th century. It later spread to other parts of the country, particularly in the central and southern regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Capelli name can be found in the historical records of the city of Milan, dating back to the 15th century. In these records, a certain Giovanni Capelli is mentioned as a merchant and landowner.

The name Capelli also appears in some of the earliest published Italian literature, such as the works of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375). However, it is unclear if these references are specifically to individuals bearing the surname or simply to the Italian word "capelli."

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Capelli was Bartolomeo Capelli (1501-1569), an Italian mathematician and engineer who contributed to the development of fortifications and military architecture.

During the Renaissance period, the Capelli family produced several artists and sculptors, including Girolamo Capelli (1528-1588), known for his work on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

In the 18th century, Giovanni Battista Capelli (1711-1784) was an Italian composer and violinist who served as the kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Dukes of Modena.

Another notable figure was Antonio Capelli (1855-1910), an Italian mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of tensor calculus and differential geometry.

Throughout history, variations of the spelling have included Capello, Cappelli, and Cappelli, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and orthography within Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Capelli

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

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

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

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