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

Castelli, 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 Castelli surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Castelli in America

Castelli is the 9834th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Castelli surname appeared 3,292 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Castelli.

We can also compare 2010 data for Castelli 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 Castelli

The surname Castelli originated in Italy during the medieval period, derived from the Italian word "castello," meaning castle or fortified dwelling. It was initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or worked in a castle, or possibly as an occupational name for a castle guard or builder.

In the early days, the name was commonly found in various regions of central and northern Italy, including Tuscany, Umbria, and Lombardy, where castles and fortified towns were prevalent. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries, with variations in spelling such as Castellis, Castelli, and Castelli.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Castelli was Giovanni Battista Castelli, an Italian mathematician and philosopher born in 1577 in Brescia, Lombardy. He was a prominent figure in the scientific revolution and a close collaborator of Galileo Galilei.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Benedetto Castelli, born in 1578 in Brescia, Lombardy. He was a renowned hydraulic engineer and mathematician, known for his pioneering work on the study of fluid mechanics and the development of the scientific method.

In the 14th century, the Castelli family was documented as a noble family in the city of Siena, Tuscany. One of their members, Niccolò Castelli, born in 1347, was a renowned poet and humanist scholar.

The surname Castelli also gained prominence in the arts, with notable figures such as Bernardo Castelli, an Italian painter born in 1557 in Genoa, whose works can be found in various churches and galleries across Italy.

Francesco Castelli, born in 1593 in Milan, was a celebrated architect and engineer known for his contributions to the design and construction of numerous churches, palaces, and fortifications in the region of Lombardy.

As the name spread across Italy, it was also adopted by families in other regions, leading to further variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, the connection to castles and fortified dwellings remained a common thread throughout its history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Castelli

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

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

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

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