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

Norcia, 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 Norcia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Norcia in America

Norcia is the 40672nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Norcia surname appeared 537 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 Norcia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Norcia 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 Norcia

The surname Norcia originated in Italy, specifically in the town of Norcia, located in the province of Perugia in the region of Umbria. The name is believed to have derived from the Latin word "Nursia," which was the ancient name for the town.

During the Middle Ages, Norcia was known for its monastery, which was founded by St. Benedict in the 6th century. The town and its inhabitants were often referred to as "Nursini," and this term eventually evolved into the surname "Norcia."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Norcia can be found in a document from the 12th century, which mentions a certain "Petrus de Nursia" (Peter of Norcia). This suggests that the surname was already in use by that time.

In the 13th century, a notable figure named Benedetto Norcia (c. 1225-1292) was a prominent philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Paris. He wrote several treatises on logic and metaphysics, which were widely studied during the medieval period.

Another individual of note was Giacomo Norcia (1490-1554), a Renaissance painter from Norcia who was known for his religious works, particularly his altarpieces and frescoes in churches throughout Umbria.

During the 16th century, the surname Norcia gained further recognition with the exploits of Gian Battista Norcia (1530-1597), a skilled military engineer and architect who worked on fortifications in various Italian cities.

In the 18th century, Antonio Norcia (1705-1780) was a respected Italian playwright and librettist who wrote several operas that were performed in theaters across Italy.

The surname Norcia has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as the town of Norcia itself, as well as the nearby villages of Norcia Alta and Norcia Bassa, which were likely named after the original settlement.

Overall, the surname Norcia has a rich history rooted in the medieval town of Norcia, and it has been carried by notable individuals in various fields throughout the centuries, contributing to the cultural and intellectual heritage of Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Norcia

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Norcia, 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!