2000
#10,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Manna
A surname of Italian origin referring to a person from the town of Manna in Piedmont, Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,101 Americans carry the last name Manna. That puts it at #11,190 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,530 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Manna 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Manna with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 110,530
Census rank
#11,190
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,704 bearers of the surname Manna in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11190th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Manna, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%) and Black (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Manna
The surname MANNA originates from Italy, specifically in the regions of Calabria and Sicily, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word "manna," which refers to the Biblical food that sustained the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the "Codice diplomatico dei re Aragonesi di Sicilia," a collection of historical documents compiled in the 15th century. This suggests that the name may have been in use among noble or aristocratic families in Sicily during that time period.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records and census documents from the towns of Reggio Calabria and Catanzaro in Calabria. Some of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname MANNA include Giovanni Manna (1620-1678), a prominent lawyer and judge from Reggio Calabria, and Domenico Manna (1651-1712), a Sicilian nobleman and landowner.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name became more widespread throughout Southern Italy, with notable individuals such as Giuseppe Manna (1760-1834), a Neapolitan painter and engraver, and Vincenzo Manna (1819-1891), an Italian poet and playwright from Calabria.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Italians bearing the surname MANNA emigrated to other parts of the world, including the United States, Argentina, and Australia. One notable figure from this period is Antonio Manna (1872-1952), an Italian-American sculptor and artist who became known for his public monuments and religious statues.
Other historical figures with the surname MANNA include Gianfranco Manna (1939-2005), an Italian film director and screenwriter, and Aldo Manna (1929-2020), an Italian philosopher and academic who specialized in the study of aesthetics and art criticism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manna
Among Census respondents with the surname Manna, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%) and Black (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Manna 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 Manna surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 2,168
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.0% · 217
- Black or African American4.8% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 113
- Two or more races2.5% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Manna
Manna 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
#9,466
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,437
+636 bearers (+22.7%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Up 1,050 places
2020
#11,190
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,704
-733 bearers (-21.3%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 1,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,516 | 2,801 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,466 | 3,437 | 1.17 | +636 bearers (+22.7%) | Up 1,050 places |
| 2020 | #11,190 | 2,704 | 0.90 | -733 bearers (-21.3%) | Down 1,724 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 Manna 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 | #9,466 | #11,190 | -18.2% |
| Count | 3,437 | 2,704 | -21.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 0.90 | -22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Manna bearers went from 3,437 to 2,704 (-21.3% change). The surname moved down 1,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,466 to #11,190.
FAQ
Manna surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Manna?
Name Census estimates that about 3,101 living Americans carry the surname Manna. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,530 residents.
How common is Manna?
Manna ranks #11,190 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,704 people with the surname Manna. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,101), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Manna.
Has Manna become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Manna went from 3,437 recorded bearers to 2,704. That is a decrease of 733 (-21.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,466 to #11,190.
What does the Census say about the background of Manna?
Among Census respondents with the surname Manna, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%) and Black (4.8%). 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 Manna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (2,168 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Manna appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%), Black (4.8%). 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 Manna (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 Manna mean?
A surname of Italian origin referring to a person from the town of Manna in Piedmont, Italy. 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 Manna (0.90 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 many people have the last name Manna?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Manna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.