2000
#115,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Manduca
Surname likely derived from the Spanish word 'manducar', meaning to chew or masticate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Manduca. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Manduca 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Manduca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Manduca, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Manduca
The surname Manduca has its origins in Italy, specifically in the regions of Campania and Calabria. It is believed to have originated in the 15th or 16th century, deriving from the Italian word "manduca," which translates to "caterpillar" or "locust." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with agricultural activities or a particular occupation related to farming.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Manduca surname can be found in the Archivio di Stato di Napoli (State Archives of Naples), where it appears in records dating back to the late 16th century. These documents mention individuals with the surname Manduca residing in various towns and villages throughout the Campania region.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Manduca surname appears to have spread across southern Italy, with records indicating families bearing this name in the provinces of Salerno, Avellino, and Potenza. In Calabria, the town of Manduca (now known as Maida) may have contributed to the dissemination of the surname in that region.
One notable individual with the Manduca surname was Giuseppe Manduca, a prominent political figure born in 1821 in Palermo, Sicily. He served as a member of the Sicilian Parliament and played a significant role in the Unification of Italy during the Risorgimento period.
Another historical figure was Francesco Manduca, born in 1803 in Cosenza, Calabria. He was a respected jurist and served as a judge in the Supreme Court of Naples during the 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Mario Manduca (1885-1957), a poet and writer from Catania, Sicily, gained recognition for his works that captured the essence of Sicilian culture and traditions.
The Manduca surname can also be found in ecclesiastical records, with mentions of priests and clergy members bearing this name. One such individual was Domenico Manduca, a Catholic priest from Reggio Calabria, who lived in the late 18th century and was known for his philanthropic efforts in the local community.
While the Manduca surname has its roots in southern Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the country and abroad, carried by families who migrated to different regions or countries over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manduca
Among Census respondents with the surname Manduca, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Manduca 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 Manduca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino11.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Manduca
Manduca 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
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 7,575 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-25 bearers (-17.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,693 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #115,489 | 140 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 7,575 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -25 bearers (-17.9%) | Down 22,693 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 Manduca 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 | #123,064 | #145,757 | -18.4% |
| Count | 140 | 115 | -17.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Manduca bearers went from 140 to 115 (-17.9% change). The surname moved down 22,693 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #145,757.
FAQ
Manduca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Manduca?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Manduca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Manduca?
Manduca ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Manduca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Manduca.
Has Manduca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Manduca went from 140 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 25 (-17.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Manduca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Manduca, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Manduca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Manduca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Hispanic (11.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Manduca (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 Manduca mean?
Surname likely derived from the Spanish word 'manducar', meaning to chew or masticate. 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 Manduca (0.04 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 Manduca?
If you just want to know how many people are called Manduca, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.