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

Pecora, 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 Pecora surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pecora in America

Pecora is the 12395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pecora surname appeared 2,509 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 Pecora.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pecora 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 Pecora

The surname Pecora has its origins in Italy, specifically in the central and southern regions of the country. It is believed to have emerged during the late Middle Ages, sometime around the 13th or 14th century.

The name Pecora is derived from the Italian word "pecora," which means "sheep." This suggests that the name likely originated from a nickname given to someone who worked as a shepherd or had some association with sheep or the wool trade.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Pecora can be found in the archives of the Papal States, where a certain Giovanni Pecora is listed as a landowner in the town of Anagni in the year 1412.

During the Renaissance period, the name appears in several documents and records, particularly in the regions of Lazio and Campania. For instance, a notable figure named Antonio Pecora (1456-1528) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar from the city of Sulmona.

In the 17th century, the Pecora family gained prominence in the arts and literature. Giovan Battista Pecora (1620-1683) was a celebrated painter and architect from Naples, known for his contributions to the Baroque style.

Another notable individual with the surname Pecora was Domenico Pecora (1731-1798), a philosopher and theologian from Bari who wrote extensively on moral philosophy and ethics.

As the centuries progressed, the Pecora name spread to other parts of Italy and beyond. In the 19th century, a prominent figure named Luigi Pecora (1832-1904) was a politician and journalist from Palermo, Sicily, who played a role in the Risorgimento movement for Italian unification.

Throughout its history, the name Pecora has also been associated with various place names and localities in Italy. For example, there is a village called Pecorara in the province of Salerno, and a town named Pecora in the province of Avellino.

Other noteworthy individuals with the surname Pecora include Vincenzo Pecora (1895-1976), an Italian-American engineer and inventor known for his contributions to the development of radar technology, and Ferdinando Pecora (1882-1967), an Italian-American lawyer and prosecutor who led investigations into Wall Street banking practices during the Great Depression.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pecora

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

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

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

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