2000
#13,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,022
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Capra
An Italian occupational surname referring to a goat herder or someone who works with goats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,252 Americans carry the last name Capra. That puts it at #14,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,200 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Capra 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
2.3K
1 in 152,200
Census rank
#14,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,964 bearers of the surname Capra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Capra, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Capra
The surname Capra originated in Italy, with the earliest known examples dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Italian word "capra," meaning "goat." The name's origins can be traced to various regions of Italy, including Lombardy, Veneto, and Tuscany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Capra name appears in a 13th-century document from the city of Verona, where a certain Giovanni Capra is mentioned as a landowner. The name was also present in other medieval records, such as tax registers and property deeds, across various Italian cities and towns.
In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the Capra surname was Francesco Capra (c. 1330-1390), a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Pavia. He authored several influential works on Roman law and served as a professor at the University of Pavia.
During the Renaissance period, the Capra family gained prominence in Venice, where they were involved in various trades and professions. One of the most notable members was Vincenzo Capra (1492-1574), a wealthy merchant and patron of the arts who commissioned works from renowned artists such as Titian and Tintoretto.
In the 17th century, another prominent figure with the Capra surname was Giovanni Battista Capra (1615-1692), a Baroque architect from Vicenza. He designed several notable buildings, including the Church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice and the Palazzo Capra in his hometown.
The Capra name also has connections to certain place names in Italy. For instance, the town of Capracotta in the Molise region is believed to have derived its name from the Latin phrase "Caprae Cotta," meaning "the goats' settlement."
Throughout history, there have been several other notable individuals with the Capra surname, including:
1. Baldassare Capra (1470-1553), an Italian architect and engineer known for his work on the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna.
2. Galeazzo Capra (1492-1536), an Italian humanist and historian who wrote extensively on the history of Milan.
3. Annibale Capra (1544-1623), an Italian architect and military engineer who worked on fortifications in various Italian cities.
4. Girolamo Capra (1579-1631), an Italian painter and engraver active in Rome during the Baroque period.
5. Alessandro Capra (1610-1669), an Italian painter and architect who worked extensively in the Veneto region.
The Capra surname has a long and rich history in Italy, spanning centuries and encompassing various fields, from law and architecture to arts and literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Capra
Among Census respondents with the surname Capra, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Capra 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 Capra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 1,726
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 153
- Two or more races2.6% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Capra
Capra 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
#13,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,352
+330 bearers (+16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 689 places
2020
#14,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,964
-388 bearers (-16.5%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 1,523 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,742 | 2,022 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,053 | 2,352 | 0.80 | +330 bearers (+16.3%) | Up 689 places |
| 2020 | #14,576 | 1,964 | 0.66 | -388 bearers (-16.5%) | Down 1,523 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 Capra 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 | #13,053 | #14,576 | -11.7% |
| Count | 2,352 | 1,964 | -16.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.66 | -17.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Capra bearers went from 2,352 to 1,964 (-16.5% change). The surname moved down 1,523 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,053 to #14,576.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Capra
FAQ
Capra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Capra?
Name Census estimates that about 2,252 living Americans carry the surname Capra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,200 residents.
How common is Capra?
Capra ranks #14,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,964 people with the surname Capra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,252), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Capra.
Has Capra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Capra went from 2,352 recorded bearers to 1,964. That is a decrease of 388 (-16.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,053 to #14,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Capra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Capra, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Capra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (1,726 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Capra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Capra (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 Capra mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a goat herder or someone who works with goats. 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 Capra (0.66 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 last name Capra?
You can see how many people are called Capra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.