2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Patricola
An Italian surname derived from the Latin "Patricius," meaning patrician or noble rank.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Patricola. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patricola 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Patricola in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patricola, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patricola
The surname Patricola is of Italian origin, first appearing in the medieval period around the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the southern regions of Italy, such as Campania and Calabria, where the name was derived from the Latin word "patricius," meaning "patrician" or "nobleman."
Historically, the Patricola name was associated with families of noble lineage, who held significant social and political influence in their respective communities. In ancient Rome, the term "patrician" referred to the aristocratic class, and it is likely that the Patricola surname carried a similar connotation during the early stages of its usage.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Patricola name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Abbey of Cava in Campania, dating back to the 11th century. This suggests that the name had already established itself in the region by that time.
Over the centuries, the Patricola surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Patricoli, Patricolli, and Patricoletti. These variations are often reflective of regional dialects and local pronunciation patterns.
Among the notable individuals who bore the Patricola surname throughout history are:
1. Giacomo Patricola (c. 1450-1520), a renowned Italian painter and sculptor from Naples, known for his works in churches and public buildings across Southern Italy.
2. Girolamo Patricola (1589-1661), a Neapolitan lawyer and jurist who served as a judge in the Royal Court of Naples during the Spanish rule of the Kingdom of Naples.
3. Domenico Patricola (1748-1825), an Italian composer and music theorist from Bari, whose compositions for the church and the opera stage were widely acclaimed in his time.
4. Vincenzo Patricola (1810-1892), an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy after the unification of the country.
5. Luisa Patricola (1876-1941), an Italian educator and feminist activist from Salerno, who played a significant role in advocating for women's rights and education in the early 20th century.
While the Patricola surname may have originated from a specific region, it has since spread across various parts of Italy and beyond, carried by families and individuals who have contributed to the rich tapestry of Italian history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patricola
Among Census respondents with the surname Patricola, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Patricola 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 Patricola surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 88
- Two or more races6.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patricola
Patricola 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
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,636 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-6 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,730 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 12,636 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 3,730 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 Patricola 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 | #150,452 | #154,182 | -2.5% |
| Count | 109 | 103 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patricola bearers went from 109 to 103 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 3,730 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #154,182.
FAQ
Patricola surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patricola?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Patricola. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Patricola?
Patricola ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Patricola. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Patricola.
Has Patricola become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patricola went from 109 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Patricola?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patricola, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Patricola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patricola appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.4%), Two or More Races (6.8%), Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Patricola (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 Patricola mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin "Patricius," meaning patrician or noble rank. 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 Patricola (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 common is the surname Patricola?
Want to know how many people have the last name Patricola? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.