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

Messa, 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 Messa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Messa in America

Messa is the 40371st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Messa surname appeared 542 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 Messa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Messa 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 Messa

The surname Messa has its origins in Italy, where it first appeared in the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "missa," which means "sent" or "dismissed." This could suggest that the name was initially given to a messenger or someone who carried out important tasks.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Messa can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical documents from the Lombard period in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. The name is also mentioned in several other medieval manuscripts and records from various regions of Italy.

In the 13th century, a prominent figure bearing the name Messa was Guglielmo Messa, a nobleman and military leader from the city of Genoa. He played a significant role in the Genoese resistance against the Holy Roman Empire during the conflicts of that time.

Another notable individual with the surname Messa was Pietro Messa, a renowned architect from the 15th century. He was responsible for designing several important buildings in Venice, including the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi.

The name Messa can also be found in association with certain place names, such as the town of Messa in the province of Sondrio, located in the northern region of Lombardy. This could indicate that some individuals adopted the surname based on their place of origin or residence.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Giovanni Battista Messa was a renowned scholar and humanist from the city of Milan. He made significant contributions to the study of classical literature and philosophy during the Italian Renaissance.

Throughout history, the surname Messa has been recorded with various spellings, such as Messa, Messe, and Messina. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and the evolution of spelling conventions over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Messa

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

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

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

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