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

Gaeta, 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 Gaeta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaeta in America

Gaeta is the 7133rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaeta surname appeared 4,688 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Gaeta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaeta 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 Gaeta

The surname Gaeta is of Italian origin, tracing its roots back to the 11th century in the town of Gaeta, located in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The name is derived from the Latin word "Caieta," which was the ancient name for the town of Gaeta.

The town of Gaeta has a rich history dating back to the Roman era, and it was mentioned in various ancient texts and manuscripts, including the writings of the Roman poet Virgil, who referred to it as "Caieta" in his epic poem the Aeneid. The name is also recorded in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Campania region of Italy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gaeta can be found in the Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Napoletana, a genealogical record of noble families in Naples, which mentions a Gaetano Gaeta in the 14th century. Another notable figure with this surname was Geronimo Gaeta, a 16th-century Italian painter known for his religious works.

The Gaeta surname is also associated with several place names, such as the town of Gaeta itself, as well as the nearby town of Formia, which was once known as "Gaeta Vecchia" or "Old Gaeta." These place names, along with variations like "Gaietano" and "Gaietta," reflect the evolution of the surname over time.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the Gaeta surname, including:

1. Raffaele Gaeta (1802-1860), an Italian politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Finance in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
2. Domenico Gaeta (1759-1836), an Italian architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Naples.
3. Giuseppe Gaeta (1834-1913), an Italian painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
4. Nicola Gaeta (1892-1951), an Italian diplomat who served as the Italian Ambassador to the Soviet Union during World War II.
5. Pietro Gaeta (1792-1869), an Italian mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.

The surname Gaeta has a rich historical legacy, reflecting the cultural and geographical influences of the Italian peninsula, particularly the regions of Lazio and Campania.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaeta

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

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

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

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