2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Masciale
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "masculus," meaning masculine or manly.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Masciale. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Masciale 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Masciale in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Masciale, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Masciale
The surname Masciale is of Italian origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in various regions of southern Italy. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "maschile," meaning "masculine" or "manly," possibly indicating a connection to a person's physical traits or demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the historic city of Naples, where a branch of the Masciale family lived during the 14th century. Records from this period indicate that a certain Girolamo Masciale was a respected scholar and jurist who served as a legal advisor to the Angevin rulers of the Kingdom of Naples.
In the 15th century, the Masciale name gained prominence in the region of Calabria, particularly in the town of Crotone. Historical documents from this era mention a Giovanni Battista Masciale, a skilled navigator and ship captain who played a role in the maritime trade between Italy and the Mediterranean ports.
During the Renaissance, the Masciale family expanded its influence, and several members achieved notable positions in various fields. One such figure was Vincenzo Masciale, a renowned painter born in Cosenza in 1550, whose works adorned churches and palaces across southern Italy.
In the late 16th century, a branch of the Masciale family settled in the city of Palermo, Sicily. Here, they established themselves as respected landowners and merchants. One of their descendants, Giuseppe Masciale (1620-1692), served as a magistrate and was known for his contributions to the legal and judicial system of the time.
As the Masciale name spread throughout Italy, it also found its way to other parts of Europe and beyond. In the 18th century, a certain Antonio Masciale (1726-1802), a native of Naples, made a name for himself as a skilled architect and engineer, contributing to the design and construction of several notable buildings in Spain and Portugal.
Throughout its long history, the surname Masciale has been associated with various notable individuals, including scholars, artists, lawyers, and public figures. While the exact origins of the name remain somewhat obscure, its enduring presence across generations and regions attests to the rich cultural heritage and legacy of this Italian surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Masciale
Among Census respondents with the surname Masciale, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Masciale 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 Masciale surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino11.2% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Masciale
Masciale 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
+25 bearers (+22.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 12,235 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-22 bearers (-15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,480 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | +25 bearers (+22.1%) | Up 12,235 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-15.9%) | Down 20,480 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 Masciale 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 | #124,548 | #145,028 | -16.4% |
| Count | 138 | 116 | -15.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -22.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Masciale bearers went from 138 to 116 (-15.9% change). The surname moved down 20,480 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #145,028.
FAQ
Masciale surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Masciale?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Masciale. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Masciale?
Masciale ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Masciale. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Masciale.
Has Masciale become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Masciale went from 138 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 22 (-15.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Masciale?
Among Census respondents with the surname Masciale, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Masciale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Masciale appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (11.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Masciale (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 Masciale mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "masculus," meaning masculine or manly. 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 Masciale (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 many people have the last name Masciale?
See how many Americans have the surname Masciale on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.