2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Parese
A toponymic surname derived from a place name in Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 110 Americans carry the last name Parese. That puts it at #156,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,115,949 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parese 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
110
1 in 3,115,949
Census rank
#156,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
96
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 96 bearers of the surname Parese in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parese, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parese
The surname Parese is believed to have originated in Italy during the medieval period, likely in the regions of Veneto or Lombardy. It may have been derived from the Italian word "paresi," which refers to someone who comes from the city of Parma or the surrounding area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Parese can be found in the "Codice Diplomatico Padovano" (Diplomatic Code of Padua), a collection of medieval documents from the city of Padua, dating back to the 13th century. This suggests that the name was present in the Veneto region during that time.
In the 14th century, a notable figure with the surname Parese was Giovanni Parese, a Venetian merchant and traveler who documented his journeys to the Far East in a manuscript titled "Il Milione" (The Million). This work provided valuable insights into the cultures and trade routes of Asia during that era.
During the Renaissance period, the Parese family produced several notable artists and scholars, including the painter Jacopo Parese (1480-1555), renowned for his frescoes in churches throughout northern Italy, and the humanist scholar Antonio Parese (1510-1578), who taught at the University of Padua.
In the 17th century, the composer and violinist Carlo Parese (1616-1678) gained recognition for his contributions to the development of the violin concerto and his work as a court musician in Vienna.
Another notable figure was the Italian economist and philosopher Antonio Genovesi (1712-1769), whose mother's maiden name was Parese. Genovesi played a significant role in the development of economic thought during the Enlightenment period.
Throughout history, the surname Parese has been associated with various professions and achievements, reflecting the diversity of its bearers across different regions of Italy and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parese
Among Census respondents with the surname Parese, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Parese 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 Parese surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.9% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parese
Parese 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-20 bearers (-15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,130 places
2020
#156,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 96
-10 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,771 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-15.9%) | Down 28,130 places |
| 2020 | #156,540 | 96 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 2,771 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 Parese 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 | #153,769 | #156,540 | -1.8% |
| Count | 106 | 96 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parese bearers went from 106 to 96 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 2,771 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #156,540.
FAQ
Parese surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parese?
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the surname Parese. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,115,949 residents.
How common is Parese?
Parese ranks #156,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 96 people with the surname Parese. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (110), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Parese.
Has Parese become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parese went from 106 recorded bearers to 96. That is a decrease of 10 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #156,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Parese?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parese, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Parese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parese appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.9%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Parese (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 Parese mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name in Italy. 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 Parese (0.03 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 share the surname Parese?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.