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

Ferrara, 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 Ferrara surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ferrara in America

Ferrara is the 2635th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ferrara surname appeared 13,669 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Ferrara.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ferrara 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 Ferrara

The surname Ferrara has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged during the medieval period. Derived from the Italian place name Ferrara, which is a city located in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, the name likely referred to someone who hailed from that city or its surrounding areas.

Ferrara itself is an ancient settlement, with its name possibly stemming from the Latin word "ferrarius," meaning "blacksmith" or "iron worker." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, referring to those involved in metalworking professions.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ferrara can be found in historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in Italy. One notable example is Bartolomeo Ferrara, a Franciscan friar born in Ferrara around 1230 who later became a renowned scholar and theologian.

During the Renaissance period, the Ferrara name gained prominence due to the powerful Este family, who ruled over the Duchy of Ferrara from the 13th to the 16th centuries. One of the most renowned members of this dynasty was Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), who married Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, in 1501.

Another prominent figure with the Ferrara surname was Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), a Dominican friar and influential religious reformer who was born in Ferrara but later moved to Florence, where he played a pivotal role in the city's political and religious affairs.

In the realm of art, the Ferrara name is associated with Girolamo da Ferrara (c.1445-c.1500), an Italian Renaissance painter and illuminator who was active in Ferrara and other Italian cities during the latter half of the 15th century.

As the name spread beyond Italy, it also gained a foothold in other parts of Europe and the Americas. For example, Juan Ferrara (c.1545-c.1610) was a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the New World in the late 16th century.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the Ferrara surname throughout history, highlighting its rich Italian heritage and the various fields in which it has been represented over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ferrara

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

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

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

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