2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Donza
An Italian surname derived from the name "Donazio" meaning "gift from God".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Donza. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Donza 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Donza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Donza, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donza
Among Census respondents with the surname Donza, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Donza 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 Donza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Donza
Donza 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-19 bearers (-15.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 28,437 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,644 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -19 bearers (-15.6%) | Down 28,437 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 3,644 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 Donza 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 | #157,234 | #153,590 | 2.3% |
| Count | 103 | 104 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Donza bearers went from 103 to 104 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,644 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #153,590.
FAQ
Donza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Donza?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Donza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Donza?
Donza ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Donza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Donza.
Has Donza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Donza went from 103 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Donza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Donza, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Donza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Donza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Hispanic (2.9%), Black (1.0%). 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 Donza (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 Donza mean?
An Italian surname derived from the name "Donazio" meaning "gift from God". 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 Donza (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Donza?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.