2000
#5,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,321
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.97
Rare Last name
Dandrea
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold weighing scales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,930 Americans carry the last name Dandrea. That puts it at #6,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,800 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dandrea 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 Dandrea with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,800
Census rank
#6,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,171 bearers of the surname Dandrea in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dandrea, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dandrea
The surname DANDREA originated in Italy, specifically in the regions of Abruzzo and Molise. The name can be traced back to the 13th century and is believed to be derived from the Italian personal name Andrea, which itself comes from the Greek name Andreas, meaning "manly" or "brave."
In its earliest forms, the surname was often spelled as D'Andrea or D'Andre, reflecting the Italian practice of using the preposition "di" (of) or "d'" before a name to indicate lineage or place of origin. The use of the apostrophe in these early spellings suggests that DANDREA may have originated as a patronymic surname, indicating "son of Andrea."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DANDREA surname can be found in the Codice Diplomatico di Molise, a collection of medieval documents from the region, which mentions a certain "Nicolaus de Andrea" in the year 1278. This suggests that the DANDREA name was already established in the area by the late 13th century.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the DANDREA surname. One such figure was Giovanni d'Andrea (c. 1275-1348), a renowned Italian canonist and legal scholar who served as an auditor of the Sacra Romana Rota, the highest ecclesiastical court of the Catholic Church. Another notable DANDREA was Ferdinando Dandrea (1484-1557), an Italian Renaissance architect and sculptor known for his work on several churches and palaces in Naples.
In the 16th century, the DANDREA surname can be found in the records of the Venetian Republic, where a certain Girolamo Dandrea (1509-1576) served as a diplomat and ambassador to the court of King Philip II of Spain. Later, in the 17th century, a certain Pietro Dandrea (1616-1689) was a prominent mathematician and astronomer who taught at the University of Padua and contributed to the development of calculus.
Another notable figure with the DANDREA surname was Francesco Dandrea (1726-1811), an Italian painter and architect who worked in the Neoclassical style and was a member of the Accademia di San Luca, one of the oldest academies for the arts in Europe.
While the DANDREA surname is most commonly associated with Italy, it has also spread to other parts of the world through immigration, particularly to the United States, Canada, and various countries in South America, where communities of Italian descent have established themselves over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dandrea
Among Census respondents with the surname Dandrea, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Dandrea 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 Dandrea surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 4,678
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 292
- Two or more races2.2% · 116
- Black or African American0.9% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dandrea
Dandrea 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
#6,407
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,310
-11 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Down 450 places
2020
#6,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,171
-139 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Up 87 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,957 | 5,321 | 1.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,407 | 5,310 | 1.80 | -11 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 450 places |
| 2020 | #6,320 | 5,171 | 1.73 | -139 bearers (-2.6%) | Up 87 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 Dandrea 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 | #6,407 | #6,320 | 1.4% |
| Count | 5,310 | 5,171 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.80 | 1.73 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dandrea bearers went from 5,310 to 5,171 (-2.6% change). The surname moved up 87 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,407 to #6,320.
FAQ
Dandrea surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dandrea?
Name Census estimates that about 5,930 living Americans carry the surname Dandrea. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,800 residents.
How common is Dandrea?
Dandrea ranks #6,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,171 people with the surname Dandrea. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,930), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Dandrea.
Has Dandrea become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dandrea went from 5,310 recorded bearers to 5,171. That is a decrease of 139 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,407 to #6,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Dandrea?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dandrea, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) 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 Dandrea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (4,678 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dandrea appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (5.6%), 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 Dandrea (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 Dandrea mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold weighing scales. 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 Dandrea (1.73 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 Dandrea?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Dandrea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.