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

Patella, 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 Patella surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Patella in America

Patella is the 37076th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Patella surname appeared 602 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 Patella.

We can also compare 2010 data for Patella 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 Patella

The surname Patella originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "patella," which means "kneecap" or "small pan." This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname or an occupational surname for someone who worked with pans or had a distinctive physical characteristic related to their kneecap.

The earliest recorded instances of the Patella surname can be found in historical documents from various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Giovanni Patella, a merchant from Florence who lived in the 14th century.

In the 15th century, the Patella family was mentioned in the records of the city of Perugia, where they were known for their involvement in the local textile industry. Notably, Niccolò Patella, a wealthy cloth merchant, served as a councilor in Perugia during the 1470s.

Another prominent figure with the Patella surname was Girolamo Patella, a Renaissance scholar and humanist from Rome who lived in the early 16th century. He was a respected writer and poet, and his works were widely circulated among intellectuals of the time.

During the 17th century, the Patella family had a presence in the Kingdom of Naples, where they held land and titles. One notable member was Fabrizio Patella, a nobleman and military officer who served in the Neapolitan army during the latter half of the century.

In more recent history, Giuseppe Patella (1878-1946) was an Italian politician and journalist who served as a member of the Italian Parliament and worked as a journalist for various publications in the early 20th century.

While the Patella surname is relatively uncommon outside of Italy, it has been carried by individuals of Italian descent around the world, including in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Patella

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

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

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

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