2000
#28,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 782
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.29
Very Rare Last name
Lascala
An Italian surname meaning "the stairs" or referring to a place with stairs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 860 Americans carry the last name Lascala. That puts it at #32,794 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 398,552 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lascala 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
860
1 in 398,552
Census rank
#32,794
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
750
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 750 bearers of the surname Lascala in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 32794th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lascala, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lascala
The surname LASCALA is of Italian origin, with roots that can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the Italian word "scala," which means "staircase" or "ladder." This name was likely given to someone who lived near a prominent set of stairs or worked as a builder of staircases.
LASCALA is a locational surname, meaning it was derived from a specific place or region. It is thought to have originated in the area around Naples, Italy, where the name was first recorded in the 13th century. Early variations of the spelling included "LaSCala," "La Scala," and "De Scala."
One of the earliest known references to the LASCALA name can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Normanno," a collection of medieval documents from Southern Italy. In this record, a certain "Guglielmo de Scala" is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Campania in the year 1275.
In the 14th century, the LASCALA name gained prominence through the powerful Della Scala family, who ruled over the city of Verona in northern Italy. This dynastic family produced several notable figures, including Cangrande I della Scala (1291-1329), a famous military leader and patron of the arts.
Another prominent figure with the LASCALA surname was Giovanni Antonio Lascala (1456-1535), an Italian humanist and scholar who served as a tutor to the children of the Medici family in Florence. He was known for his translations of ancient Greek texts and his contributions to the Renaissance culture of the time.
In the 17th century, a branch of the LASCALA family migrated to Spain, where the name was adapted to "Lascala." One notable individual from this line was Martín de Lascala (1620-1685), a Spanish military engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of fortifications in various Spanish colonies in the Americas.
During the 18th century, the LASCALA name appeared in several historical records from the Italian states, including the "Registro dei Battesimi" (Baptismal Records) of various cities. One example is Giuseppe Lascala, born in Naples in 1742, who later became a renowned painter and fresco artist.
As the LASCALA family spread across Europe and beyond, the name continued to be associated with various professions and achievements. In the 19th century, Guglielmo Lascala (1801-1877), an Italian architect, gained recognition for his work on several churches and public buildings in Naples.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lascala
Among Census respondents with the surname Lascala, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Lascala 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 Lascala surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 684
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 49
- Two or more races1.3% · 10
- Black or African American0.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lascala
Lascala 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
#27,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 858
+76 bearers (+9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Up 724 places
2020
#32,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 750
-108 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Down 4,844 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,674 | 782 | 0.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,950 | 858 | 0.29 | +76 bearers (+9.7%) | Up 724 places |
| 2020 | #32,794 | 750 | 0.25 | -108 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 4,844 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 Lascala 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 | #27,950 | #32,794 | -17.3% |
| Count | 858 | 750 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.29 | 0.25 | -13.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lascala bearers went from 858 to 750 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 4,844 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,950 to #32,794.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lascala
FAQ
Lascala surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lascala?
Name Census estimates that about 860 living Americans carry the surname Lascala. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 398,552 residents.
How common is Lascala?
Lascala ranks #32,794 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 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 750 people with the surname Lascala. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (860), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 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 Lascala.
Has Lascala become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lascala went from 858 recorded bearers to 750. That is a decrease of 108 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #27,950 to #32,794.
What does the Census say about the background of Lascala?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lascala, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Lascala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (684 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lascala appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (6.5%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Lascala (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 Lascala mean?
An Italian surname meaning "the stairs" or referring to a place with stairs. 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 Lascala (0.25 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 common is the surname Lascala?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Lascala at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.