2000
#5,633
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,651
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.09
Rare Last name
Massa
An Italian occupational surname referring to the owner or manager of a farm or estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,087 Americans carry the last name Massa. That puts it at #6,187 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,309 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Massa 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 Massa with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 56,309
Census rank
#6,187
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,308 bearers of the surname Massa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6187th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Massa, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Massa
Among Census respondents with the surname Massa, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Massa 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 Massa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.7% · 4,336
- Hispanic or Latino14.1% · 747
- Two or more races1.8% · 96
- Black or African American1.5% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Massa
Massa 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
#5,677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,111
+460 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 2.07
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#6,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,308
-803 bearers (-13.1%)
Per 100,000 1.78
Rank movement Down 510 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,633 | 5,651 | 2.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,677 | 6,111 | 2.07 | +460 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #6,187 | 5,308 | 1.78 | -803 bearers (-13.1%) | Down 510 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 Massa 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 | #5,677 | #6,187 | -9.0% |
| Count | 6,111 | 5,308 | -13.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.07 | 1.78 | -14.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Massa bearers went from 6,111 to 5,308 (-13.1% change). The surname moved down 510 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,677 to #6,187.
FAQ
Massa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Massa?
Name Census estimates that about 6,087 living Americans carry the surname Massa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,309 residents.
How common is Massa?
Massa ranks #6,187 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,308 people with the surname Massa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,087), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Massa.
Has Massa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Massa went from 6,111 recorded bearers to 5,308. That is a decrease of 803 (-13.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,677 to #6,187.
What does the Census say about the background of Massa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Massa, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.1%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Massa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (4,336 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Massa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.7%), Hispanic (14.1%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Massa (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 Massa mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to the owner or manager of a farm or estate. 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 Massa (1.78 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 Massa?
Find out how many people are called Massa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.