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

Massa, 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 Massa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Massa in America

Massa is the 5677th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Massa surname appeared 6,111 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 Massa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Massa 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 Massa

The surname MASSA has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Latin word "massa," meaning "a lump" or "a mass." This word was often used to refer to an estate or a landed property, suggesting that the name may have been initially adopted by someone who lived on or owned such an estate.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MASSA can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of documents from the Lombard era in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Lombard nobility at that time.

The name MASSA also appeared in the Codice Diplomatico della Repubblica di Genova, a compilation of diplomatic documents from the Republic of Genoa, which dates back to the 12th century. This indicates that the name was well-established in the Genoese region by that period.

In the 13th century, the name MASSA was recorded in the Libro Rosso di Stazzana, a historical document from the town of Stazzano, near Alessandria in northern Italy. This provides evidence of the name's presence in that area during the Middle Ages.

One notable individual bearing the surname MASSA was Niccolò di Massa, a 14th-century Italian architect and sculptor from Siena. He is best known for his work on the Cathedral of Siena, where he designed the Cappella del Corporale and contributed to the construction of the façade.

Another prominent figure with the surname MASSA was Pietro Andrea Massa, a 16th-century Italian historian and writer from Genoa. He is renowned for his work "Delle Vite de' Capitani Illustri," a collection of biographies of famous military leaders, published in 1576.

In the 17th century, Gian Battista Massa, an Italian painter and architect from Bologna, gained recognition for his contributions to the Baroque style. He worked on various churches and palaces in Bologna and other cities in northern Italy.

The name MASSA was also associated with the town of Massa, located in the province of Massa-Carrara in Tuscany, Italy. This place name likely contributed to the widespread use of the surname in that region.

In the 19th century, Eugenio Massa, an Italian botanist from Piedmont, made significant contributions to the study of plant life. He published several works on the flora of northern Italy and is credited with discovering and naming several new plant species.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Massa

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

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

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

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