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

Penna, 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 Penna surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Penna in America

Penna is the 16616th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Penna surname appeared 1,726 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 Penna.

We can also compare 2010 data for Penna 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 Penna

The surname Penna has its origins in Italy, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "penna," which means "feather" or "pen." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals involved in the production or trade of feathers or writing implements.

The earliest recorded instances of the Penna surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. Some historical documents from this period mention individuals with variations of the name, such as Pennacchi and Pennacchini.

One notable historical figure bearing the Penna surname was Giovanni Battista Penna, a renowned Italian painter who lived from 1548 to 1624. He was known for his religious artworks and frescoes adorning churches in Rome and other Italian cities.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Gian Lorenzo Penna, an Italian architect and engineer who lived from 1658 to 1708. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Rome, including the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale.

In the 18th century, Giuseppe Penna, an Italian mathematician and astronomer, made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was born in 1714 and lived until 1798.

During the Renaissance period, the Penna family was known to have connections with the influential Medici family in Florence. Some records from this time mention a Francesco Penna, who served as a courtier and advisor to the Medici rulers.

The name Penna has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Penna San Giovanni, a town in the Marche region, and Penna in Teverina, a municipality in the province of Terni. These place names may have influenced the surname's origin and spread throughout different regions of the country.

While the Penna surname has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South America, due to Italian immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Penna

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

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

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

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