Menna last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Menna

A Manx surname possibly derived from the Irish surname Ó Meanacháin meaning "descendant of Meanachán".

Menna, 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 Menna surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menna in America

Menna is the 33695th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menna surname appeared 676 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Menna.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menna 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 33695 23940 33.85%
Count 676 984 -37.11%
Proportion per 100k 0.23 0.36 -44.07%

The history of the last name Menna

The surname Menna has its origins in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of Campania and Calabria. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "menna," which means "red." This suggests that the name was likely initially given to someone with reddish hair or complexion.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Menna surname can be traced back to the 11th century in the town of Amalfi, located in the province of Salerno, Campania. Historical records from this period mention a nobleman named Guglielmo Menna, who was a prominent figure in the local community.

During the 13th century, the name Menna appeared in various documents and manuscripts from the region of Calabria. For example, a legal contract from 1275 mentions a certain Nicola Menna, who was involved in a land dispute in the town of Cosenza.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Giovanni Menna was a respected scholar and author from the city of Naples. He wrote several treatises on philosophy and theology, which were widely read and studied during the Renaissance period.

Another prominent Menna was Girolamo Menna, a 17th-century architect from the town of Vico Equense, near Naples. He is renowned for his work on several churches and monasteries in the region, including the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà in Naples, which he designed in 1635.

In more recent history, the Menna surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One such person was Filiberto Menna, an Italian painter and sculptor who lived from 1857 to 1937. He was known for his religious-themed works, many of which can be found in churches throughout Italy.

The surname Menna has also been prevalent in various parts of the world due to Italian immigration. For instance, there have been several notable individuals with the Menna surname in Argentina, where a significant Italian diaspora resides.

Overall, the surname Menna has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval Italy, with its roots particularly strong in the southern regions of Campania and Calabria. While the name has spread to different parts of the world, its origins remain firmly grounded in the cultural and historical fabric of Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menna

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

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 Menna was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 89.50% 605
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.48% 10
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.18% 8
Hispanic Origin 6.80% 46

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 Menna has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 89.50% 92.38% -3.17%
Black 1.48% 1.02% 36.80%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.18% 1.12% 5.22%
Hispanic 6.80% 4.57% 39.23%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Menna last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 6, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/menna-surname-popularity/.

"Menna last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/menna-surname-popularity/. Accessed 6 June, 2025

Menna last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/menna-surname-popularity/.

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