Francavilla last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Francavilla

A surname referring to a person from a town of that name in Italy.

Francavilla, 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 Francavilla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Francavilla in America

Francavilla is the 47429th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Francavilla surname appeared 447 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 Francavilla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Francavilla 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank47429458293.43%
Count4474391.81%
Proportion per 100k0.150.16-6.45%

The history of the last name Francavilla

The surname Francavilla has its origins in Italy, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the town of Francavilla in the southern Italian region of Calabria. The prefix "Franca" likely refers to the Franks, the Germanic tribe that ruled parts of Italy during the Middle Ages, while "villa" means "village" or "town" in Italian.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Francavilla can be found in a document from the 12th century, which mentions a nobleman named Ruggero de Francavilla. This suggests that the surname was already well-established in Calabria by that time.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, several members of the Francavilla family held prominent positions in the Kingdom of Naples. One notable figure was Tommaso Francavilla, a jurist and diplomat who served as a judge in the royal court of King Robert of Naples (1309-1343).

In the 15th century, the Francavilla family gained further prominence when Giacomo Francavilla (1420-1498) became a respected physician and philosopher. He served as a professor at the University of Naples and wrote several influential works on medicine and natural philosophy.

Another famous bearer of the name was Francesco Francavilla (1548-1615), a Jesuit priest and mathematician who authored several treatises on geometry and astronomy. He was also involved in the reform of the calendar, which led to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582.

In the 17th century, the Francavilla family produced several notable artists and architects. One of them was Domenico Francavilla (1620-1682), a painter and engraver who worked in Naples and Rome. His works can be found in various churches and galleries throughout Italy.

Throughout history, the Francavilla surname has also been associated with various place names and variations in spelling. For example, the town of Francavilla Fontana in the Apulia region of Italy is believed to have derived its name from a branch of the Francavilla family that settled there in the Middle Ages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Francavilla

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

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 Francavilla was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only93.06%416
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races2.24%10
Hispanic Origin3.58%16

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

20102000Change (%)
White93.06%93.62%-0.60%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races2.24%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic3.58%4.78%-28.71%

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

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

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