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

Donza, 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 Donza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donza in America

Donza is the 157234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donza surname appeared 103 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Donza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Donza 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 Donza

The surname DONZA is of Italian origin, with roots dating back to the medieval period in the northern regions of Italy. It is believed to have derived from the Latin name "Donatus," which means "given" or "gifted." This name was commonly used in ancient Rome and later adopted as a Christian name during the early years of the Church.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name DONZA can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Cava de' Tirreni monastery in Campania, Italy. The name appears in a document dated 1098, where a certain Donatus de Donza is mentioned as a landowner in the region.

During the 12th century, the DONZA surname gained prominence in the city of Genoa, where several members of the family held influential positions within the maritime republic. Notable individuals from this period include Oberto Donza, a wealthy merchant and ship owner who financed several naval expeditions in the Mediterranean (born around 1150).

As the DONZA family expanded and migrated to other parts of Italy, variations in spelling emerged, such as Donzi, Donzio, and Donzelli. One notable figure was Giovanni Donzelli, a renowned painter from Florence who lived during the 15th century and was renowned for his frescoes in several churches throughout Tuscany (born around 1420).

In the 16th century, the DONZA name gained recognition in the realm of literature with the works of Girolamo Donzellini, a humanist scholar and poet from Brescia. His published works include "De partibus aedium" (1589), which explored the architecture and design of ancient Roman buildings (born in 1532, died in 1597).

Another prominent individual with the DONZA surname was Gaspare Donzelli, a military leader from Genoa who served as a commander in the Spanish Army during the 17th century. He played a crucial role in the Siege of Candia (modern-day Heraklion, Crete) during the Cretan War against the Ottoman Empire (born in 1610, died in 1675).

Throughout the centuries, the DONZA surname has been associated with various locations across Italy, including the towns of Donzà and Donzella in the Piedmont region, as well as the village of Donzella in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy. These place names likely influenced the spelling and variations of the surname over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donza

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

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

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

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