2000
#16,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,575
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.58
Rare Last name
Coletta
An Italian surname derived from an occupational name meaning "quarryman" or "gatherer of stones."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,103 Americans carry the last name Coletta. That puts it at #15,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,984 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coletta 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Coletta with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 162,984
Census rank
#15,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,834 bearers of the surname Coletta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coletta, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coletta
The surname Coletta is of Italian origin, derived from the medieval Italian given name Niccoletta, which was a diminutive form of Nicola, the Italian variant of the Greek name Nicholas. The name Nicola can be traced back to the ancient Greek word 'nikos,' meaning 'victory,' and 'laos,' meaning 'people.' Thus, the name Coletta originally carried the meaning of 'little victor of the people.'
The earliest recorded instances of the name Coletta can be found in various Italian historical records and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is found in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic work compiled by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún, which mentions a woman named Coletta di Firenze, who lived in Florence during the 1300s.
In the late 15th century, the name Coletta gained prominence with the canonization of St. Colette (1381-1447), a French nun and reformer of the Poor Clares order. Born as Nicolette Boellet in Corbie, France, she took the religious name Colette and played a significant role in reviving the strict observance of the Franciscan rule within her order.
Another notable figure bearing the surname Coletta was the Italian artist Giacomo Coletta (1508-1572), a Renaissance painter and engraver from Bologna. His works can be found in various churches and museums across Italy.
In the 19th century, the name Coletta was associated with Nicola Coletta (1806-1863), an Italian military leader and politician who served as the Minister of War for the Kingdom of Sardinia and played a crucial role in the unification of Italy.
During the same period, the surname Coletta also gained recognition through the Italian composer and conductor Michelangelo Coletta (1844-1918), who composed several operas and worked as the Director of the San Carlo Theatre in Naples.
It is worth noting that the surname Coletta is not only found in Italy but also in other parts of Europe and the Americas, where Italian immigrants have settled over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coletta
Among Census respondents with the surname Coletta, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Coletta 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 Coletta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 1,664
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 112
- Two or more races2.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coletta
Coletta 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
#16,958
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,676
+101 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 237 places
2020
#15,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,834
+158 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 1,563 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,721 | 1,575 | 0.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,958 | 1,676 | 0.57 | +101 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 237 places |
| 2020 | #15,395 | 1,834 | 0.61 | +158 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 1,563 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 Coletta 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 | #16,958 | #15,395 | 9.2% |
| Count | 1,676 | 1,834 | 9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.61 | 7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coletta bearers went from 1,676 to 1,834 (+9.4% change). The surname moved up 1,563 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,958 to #15,395.
FAQ
Coletta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coletta?
Name Census estimates that about 2,103 living Americans carry the surname Coletta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,984 residents.
How common is Coletta?
Coletta ranks #15,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,834 people with the surname Coletta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Coletta.
Has Coletta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coletta went from 1,676 recorded bearers to 1,834. That is an increase of 158 (+9.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,958 to #15,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Coletta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coletta, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Coletta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (1,664 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coletta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (6.1%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Coletta (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 Coletta mean?
An Italian surname derived from an occupational name meaning "quarryman" or "gatherer of stones." 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 Coletta (0.61 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 share the surname Coletta?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.