2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Castagnetto
A surname derived from the Italian word for "chestnut tree", possibly indicating an origin near such trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Castagnetto. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Castagnetto 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Castagnetto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Castagnetto, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (38.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Castagnetto
The surname Castagnetto is of Italian origin, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Italian word "castagna," meaning chestnut, and likely originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a chestnut tree or grove. Alternatively, it could have been an occupational name for someone who harvested or sold chestnuts.
Castagnetto is a diminutive form of the word, suggesting it may have been used to distinguish smaller chestnut groves or areas with fewer chestnut trees. The name is most commonly found in the northern regions of Italy, particularly in Piedmont and Lombardy, where chestnut cultivation was prevalent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 1397 document from the town of Bra, in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont. The document mentions a person named Giacomo Castagnetto, suggesting the surname had already been established by that time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Giovanni Battista Castagnetto (1519-1598) was a renowned Italian architect and sculptor from Genoa. He is best known for his work on the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Carignano, Genoa.
Another notable Castagnetto was Gian Domenico Castagnetto (1679-1742), an Italian painter from Turin, Piedmont. He was known for his religious and mythological works, and several of his paintings can be found in churches and galleries throughout Italy.
In the 19th century, Vincenzo Castagnetto (1804-1889) was an Italian writer and journalist from Genoa. He founded the literary magazine "La Rivista Ligure" and wrote several works on the history and culture of the Liguria region.
During the same period, Pietro Castagnetto (1838-1916) was an Italian politician and lawyer from Asti, Piedmont. He served as a deputy in the Italian Parliament and was involved in the Risorgimento movement that led to the unification of Italy.
Lastly, Carlo Castagnetto (1890-1966) was an Italian engineer and inventor from Turin, Piedmont. He is credited with developing the first commercially successful self-propelled combine harvester, which revolutionized agricultural practices in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Castagnetto
Among Census respondents with the surname Castagnetto, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (38.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Castagnetto 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 Castagnetto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.5% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino38.1% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Castagnetto
Castagnetto 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-7 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,281 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,174 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 16,281 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 2,174 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 Castagnetto 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 | #149,395 | #147,221 | 1.5% |
| Count | 110 | 113 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Castagnetto bearers went from 110 to 113 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 2,174 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #147,221.
FAQ
Castagnetto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Castagnetto?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Castagnetto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Castagnetto?
Castagnetto ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Castagnetto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Castagnetto.
Has Castagnetto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Castagnetto went from 110 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 3 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Castagnetto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Castagnetto, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (38.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Castagnetto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.5% (65 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Castagnetto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.5%), Hispanic (38.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Castagnetto (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 Castagnetto mean?
A surname derived from the Italian word for "chestnut tree", possibly indicating an origin near such trees. 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 Castagnetto (0.04 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 Castagnetto?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Castagnetto is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.