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

Paglia, 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 Paglia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Paglia in America

Paglia is the 17942nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Paglia surname appeared 1,558 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Paglia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Paglia 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 Paglia

The surname Paglia is of Italian origin, derived from the Italian word "paglia" which means "straw" or "thatch". It likely originated as a surname in the 13th or 14th century in various regions of Italy, referring to someone who worked with straw or lived in a thatched dwelling.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Paglia can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Longobardo" from the year 1203, which contains a reference to a certain Petrus Paglia from the city of Brescia in northern Italy. Another early record is from the "Registri Notarili di Perugia" from 1327, where a Giovannino Paglia is mentioned.

In the 15th century, the surname Paglia is recorded in the "Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Veneziana" (Book of Gold of the Venetian Nobility), suggesting that some members of the Paglia family had achieved noble status in the Republic of Venice. One notable figure from this time was Bartolomeo Paglia, a Venetian diplomat and ambassador who lived from around 1430 to 1495.

The Paglia surname also has a long history in the region of Campania in southern Italy. One of the earliest mentions of the name in this area is found in the "Registro Vassalli di Salerno" from 1445, which lists a certain Gaspare Paglia as a vassal of the Prince of Salerno.

In the 16th century, a branch of the Paglia family established itself in the city of Naples. One of the most famous figures from this lineage was Martio Paglia, a renowned lawyer and jurist who lived from 1526 to 1593. Another notable individual was Giovan Battista Paglia, a painter and architect from Naples who lived from 1554 to 1628.

As the surname spread throughout Italy, it also emerged in other regions, such as Tuscany and Piedmont. In the 18th century, a notable figure was Vincenzo Paglia, a philosopher and theologian from Piedmont who lived from 1701 to 1785.

Over the centuries, variations of the surname have included Pagliari, Pagliaro, and Paglietti, all derived from the same root word "paglia". The Paglia surname has also been carried by various individuals throughout history, including the Italian philosopher and feminist writer Camille Paglia, born in 1947.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Paglia

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

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

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