2000
#69,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 265
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Checchi
An Italian surname derived from a nickname for someone short or small in stature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 290 Americans carry the last name Checchi. That puts it at #80,815 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,181,912 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Checchi 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
290
1 in 1,181,912
Census rank
#80,815
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
253
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 253 bearers of the surname Checchi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 80815th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Checchi, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Checchi
The surname Checchi originates from Italy, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "checco," which was a diminutive or nickname for the personal name Francesco (Francis). This name was particularly common in regions like Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Checchi can be found in the Florentine Priorista, a historical record of government officials in Florence, dating back to the 14th century. In this document, a certain Betto Checchi is mentioned as holding a position in the city's administration during the year 1349.
The name also appears in various other medieval records and manuscripts, including the Catasto Fiorentino, a census-like document from 1427 that listed property owners in Florence. Here, several individuals with the surname Checchi are listed, such as Piero Checchi and Bartolomeo Checchi.
In the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the name Checchi was Alessandro Checchi, a sculptor from Florence who lived from 1520 to 1588. His works can still be seen in various churches and public spaces throughout Tuscany.
Another prominent individual was Giambattista Checchi, born in 1532 in Siena, who became a renowned architect and engineer. He was responsible for the design and construction of several important buildings in Siena, including the Palazzo del Capitano and the Loggia dei Nobili.
In the 18th century, a famous playwright and librettist named Giuseppe Maria Checchi was born in Florence in 1701. He wrote numerous comedies and operas that were performed across Italy during his lifetime.
The name Checchi can also be traced to various place names and locations in Italy, such as Checchi di Bettona, a small village in the province of Perugia, and Colle di Checchi, a hill near the town of Montepulciano in Tuscany.
Throughout history, the surname Checchi has been documented in various spellings, including Checki, Checcbi, and Checchia, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic evolution of Italian dialects over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Checchi
Among Census respondents with the surname Checchi, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Checchi 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 Checchi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.2% · 218
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 22
- Two or more races2.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 5
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Checchi
Checchi 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
#76,533
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 251
-14 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 7,332 places
2020
#80,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 253
+2 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 4,282 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #69,201 | 265 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #76,533 | 251 | 0.09 | -14 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 7,332 places |
| 2020 | #80,815 | 253 | 0.08 | +2 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 4,282 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 Checchi 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 | #76,533 | #80,815 | -5.6% |
| Count | 251 | 253 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Checchi bearers went from 251 to 253 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 4,282 positions in the national ranking, going from #76,533 to #80,815.
FAQ
Checchi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Checchi?
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the surname Checchi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,181,912 residents.
How common is Checchi?
Checchi ranks #80,815 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 253 people with the surname Checchi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Checchi.
Has Checchi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Checchi went from 251 recorded bearers to 253. That is an increase of 2 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #76,533 to #80,815.
What does the Census say about the background of Checchi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Checchi, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Checchi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (218 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Checchi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.2%), Hispanic (8.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Checchi (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 Checchi mean?
An Italian surname derived from a nickname for someone short or small in stature. 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 Checchi (0.08 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 are called Checchi?
See how many people have the surname Checchi on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.