2000
#2,089
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,928
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.90
Uncommon Last name
Deluca
An Italian surname referring to someone from the town of Luca or a descendant of someone named Luca.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,665 Americans carry the last name Deluca. That puts it at #2,308 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deluca 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 Deluca with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,403
Census rank
#2,308
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,405 bearers of the surname Deluca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2308th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deluca, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deluca
The surname DeLuca originates from Italy, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Latin name "Lucas," which means "man from Lucania," an ancient region in southern Italy. The prefix "de" denotes "from" or "of," indicating that the name refers to someone who hailed from a town or area associated with the name Lucas.
During the medieval period, the name DeLuca appeared in various Italian records and manuscripts, particularly in the regions of Campania and Calabria. One of the earliest documented references is found in a 13th-century manuscript from the town of Amalfi, where a certain "Guglielmo DeLuca" is mentioned as a local merchant.
In the 14th century, the name DeLuca became more widespread across southern Italy, with notable individuals bearing this surname emerging in various professions and positions of power. One such figure was Pietro DeLuca, a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Naples, who lived from 1320 to 1385.
As the centuries progressed, the surname DeLuca spread to other parts of Italy, with variations in spelling and pronunciation emerging in different regions. For instance, in the Veneto region, the name was sometimes spelled as "Daluca," while in Tuscany, it was commonly written as "Delucca."
Among the notable individuals with the surname DeLuca throughout history, one can cite Erasmo DeLuca, a 16th-century painter from Genoa, renowned for his religious frescoes and altarpieces. Another prominent figure was Giovanni Battista DeLuca, a 17th-century architect and engineer from Naples, who designed several churches and fortifications in the city.
In the 19th century, the name DeLuca gained further prominence with the birth of Domenico DeLuca (1808-1882), an Italian philosopher and educator who made significant contributions to the field of ethics and moral philosophy.
Additionally, the 20th century saw the rise of Guido DeLuca (1910-1981), an Italian-American mobster and member of the Lucchese crime family in New York City, who played a significant role in the criminal underworld of the time.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning Carmelo DeLuca (1933-2021), an Italian-American businessman and philanthropist, who founded and served as the CEO of the successful DeLuca Enterprises, a real estate development company based in New York.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deluca
Among Census respondents with the surname Deluca, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Deluca 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 Deluca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 14,145
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 792
- Two or more races2.2% · 336
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 69
- Black or African American0.3% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deluca
Deluca 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
#2,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,066
+138 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 5.45
Rank movement Down 174 places
2020
#2,308
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,405
-661 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 5.15
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,089 | 15,928 | 5.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,263 | 16,066 | 5.45 | +138 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 174 places |
| 2020 | #2,308 | 15,405 | 5.15 | -661 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 45 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 Deluca 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 | #2,263 | #2,308 | -2.0% |
| Count | 16,066 | 15,405 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.45 | 5.15 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deluca bearers went from 16,066 to 15,405 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,263 to #2,308.
FAQ
Deluca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deluca?
Name Census estimates that about 17,665 living Americans carry the surname Deluca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,403 residents.
How common is Deluca?
Deluca ranks #2,308 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,405 people with the surname Deluca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,665), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Deluca.
Has Deluca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deluca went from 16,066 recorded bearers to 15,405. That is a decrease of 661 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,263 to #2,308.
What does the Census say about the background of Deluca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deluca, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) 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 Deluca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (14,145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deluca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (5.1%), 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 Deluca (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 Deluca mean?
An Italian surname referring to someone from the town of Luca or a descendant of someone named Luca. 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 Deluca (5.15 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 surname Deluca?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.