Fanella last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Fanella

An Italian surname likely derived from the word "fanel," meaning lantern or lighthouse.

Fanella, 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 Fanella surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fanella in America

Fanella is the 68345th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fanella surname appeared 288 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 Fanella.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fanella 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 68345 56392 19.17%
Count 288 339 -16.27%
Proportion per 100k 0.10 0.13 -26.09%

The history of the last name Fanella

The surname Fanella has its origins in Italy, with records dating back to the 13th century. The name is believed to derive from the Latin word "fanum," meaning a temple or sanctuary. It is thought that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive name to someone who lived near or worked in a temple or church.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Fanella can be found in a document from the city of Naples, dated 1275. This document mentions a certain "Petrus Fanella," suggesting that the name was already established in the region by that time.

During the Renaissance period, the name Fanella appeared in various historical records and manuscripts. In the late 15th century, a nobleman named Giovanni Battista Fanella was mentioned in a Venetian chronicle as a prominent figure in the city's political affairs.

The name Fanella has also been linked to certain place names in Italy. For instance, there is a small town called Fanella di Rivoli in the Piedmont region, which may have derived its name from the surname or vice versa.

Several notable individuals have borne the surname Fanella throughout history. One of the most famous was Girolamo Fanella (1547-1619), an Italian painter and architect who worked in Naples and Rome during the late Renaissance period. His works can still be admired in various churches and palaces across Italy.

Another well-known figure was Antonio Fanella (1680-1745), a Neapolitan composer and organist who was celebrated for his contributions to the development of the Neapolitan school of opera and sacred music.

In the 19th century, Giuseppe Fanella (1815-1892) was a prominent Italian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Italian parliament and played a role in the unification of Italy.

Among other notable individuals with the surname Fanella were Enrico Fanella (1902-1978), an Italian actor and director who appeared in numerous films and stage productions, and Arturo Fanella (1909-1999), an Italian writer and journalist known for his works on history and culture.

While the surname Fanella may have originated in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North and South America, as a result of Italian immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fanella

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

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 Fanella was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 99.65% 287
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Fanella has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 99.65% 96.76% 2.94%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% 1.77% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Fanella last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on April 15, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/fanella-surname-popularity/.

"Fanella last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/fanella-surname-popularity/. Accessed 15 April, 2025

Fanella last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/fanella-surname-popularity/.

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