2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Nespeca
A surname derived from an Italian word meaning "medlar fruit".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Nespeca. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nespeca 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Nespeca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nespeca, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nespeca
The surname NESPECA is believed to have originated in the region of Calabria in southern Italy. It likely emerged in the 16th or 17th century, deriving from the Latin word "nespilus," which referred to a type of medlar fruit. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with individuals who cultivated or traded in medlars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the NESPECA surname can be found in the municipal records of the town of Reggio Calabria, dating back to the late 1600s. These records mention a family of landowners with the surname NESPECA, possibly indicating their involvement in agricultural pursuits.
In the 18th century, the NESPECA name appears in various church records and property deeds in the neighboring towns of Locri and Siderno. This suggests that the surname had spread across the Calabrian region by that time.
An intriguing historical reference to the NESPECA name can be found in a manuscript from the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli (National Library of Naples), which includes a poem written in the Calabrian dialect by a poet named Vincenzo NESPECA, born in 1735 in Reggio Calabria.
Another notable bearer of the NESPECA surname was Gaspare NESPECA, a philosopher and scholar who lived in the late 18th century. He authored several treatises on ethics and metaphysics, which were widely circulated among the intellectual circles of his time.
In the 19th century, the NESPECA name gained prominence with the birth of Giuseppe NESPECA (1820-1901), a renowned painter from Reggio Calabria. His works, which often depicted scenes of everyday life in Calabria, are now housed in various museums and private collections across Italy.
Another influential figure with the NESPECA surname was Maria NESPECA (1876-1942), a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights in Calabria. She established several schools in the region and fought for equal access to education for girls and women.
Towards the end of the 19th century, some members of the NESPECA family are believed to have emigrated from Calabria to other parts of Italy and abroad, potentially contributing to the spread and diversification of the surname in different regions and countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nespeca
Among Census respondents with the surname Nespeca, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Nespeca 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 Nespeca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nespeca
Nespeca 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
+13 bearers (+11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,723 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-13 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,551 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+11.3%) | Up 2,723 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 13,551 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 Nespeca 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 | #132,206 | #145,757 | -10.2% |
| Count | 128 | 115 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nespeca bearers went from 128 to 115 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 13,551 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #145,757.
FAQ
Nespeca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nespeca?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Nespeca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Nespeca?
Nespeca ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Nespeca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Nespeca.
Has Nespeca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nespeca went from 128 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Nespeca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nespeca, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Nespeca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nespeca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Nespeca (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 Nespeca mean?
A surname derived from an Italian word meaning "medlar fruit". 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 Nespeca (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 are called Nespeca?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Nespeca at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.