2000
#9,002
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,340
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.24
Rare Last name
Perna
An Italian occupational surname referring to a shoemaker or someone who works with leather.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,517 Americans carry the last name Perna. That puts it at #10,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,456 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Perna 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Perna with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 97,456
Census rank
#10,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,067 bearers of the surname Perna in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Perna, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Perna
The surname Perna is of Italian origin, originating from the northern regions of the country. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "perna," which translates to "ham" or "haunch." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname for someone who dealt with the curing or selling of hams or other pork products.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Perna surname can be found in the Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Italiana, a register of Italian nobility published in the 15th century. It mentions a noble family with the surname Perna residing in the city of Milan during the 14th century.
The Perna name also appears in several historical documents from the 16th century, including records of the University of Padua, which was one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in Europe at the time. A notable figure associated with this name was Giovanni Battista Perna, a renowned printer and publisher from the city of Lecce, who lived from 1535 to 1596.
Another individual of note bearing the Perna surname was Pietro Perna, a 17th-century Italian sculptor and architect who worked primarily in Rome. His most famous work is the bronze statue of St. Peter, which stands in the basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican City.
In the 18th century, the Perna name gained prominence in the field of music with the birth of Francesco Perna (1710-1789), an Italian composer and violinist who was highly regarded in his time. His compositions, particularly his violin concertos, were widely performed throughout Europe.
Moving into the 19th century, a notable figure was Carlo Perna (1836-1914), an Italian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Italian Parliament and was actively involved in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification.
Over the centuries, the Perna surname has also been associated with various places and regions across Italy, such as the town of Perna in the province of Salerno, and the comune of Perno in the province of Novara.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Perna
Among Census respondents with the surname Perna, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Perna 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 Perna surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 2,770
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 171
- Two or more races2.2% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 31
- Black or African American0.7% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Perna
Perna 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
#9,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,467
+127 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 380 places
2020
#10,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,067
-400 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 646 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,002 | 3,340 | 1.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,382 | 3,467 | 1.18 | +127 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 380 places |
| 2020 | #10,028 | 3,067 | 1.03 | -400 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 646 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 Perna 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 | #9,382 | #10,028 | -6.9% |
| Count | 3,467 | 3,067 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.18 | 1.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Perna bearers went from 3,467 to 3,067 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 646 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,382 to #10,028.
FAQ
Perna surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Perna?
Name Census estimates that about 3,517 living Americans carry the surname Perna. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,456 residents.
How common is Perna?
Perna ranks #10,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,067 people with the surname Perna. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,517), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Perna.
Has Perna become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Perna went from 3,467 recorded bearers to 3,067. That is a decrease of 400 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,382 to #10,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Perna?
Among Census respondents with the surname Perna, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Perna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (2,770 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Perna appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (5.6%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Perna (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 Perna mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a shoemaker or someone who works with leather. 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 Perna (1.03 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 Americans have the surname Perna?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.