Petitti last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Petitti

An Italian surname meaning "little" or "small".

Petitti, 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 Petitti surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Petitti in America

Petitti is the 34967th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Petitti surname appeared 645 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 Petitti.

We can also compare 2010 data for Petitti 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank34967320268.78%
Count645680-5.28%
Proportion per 100k0.220.25-12.77%

The history of the last name Petitti

The surname Petitti has its origins in Italy, where it first appeared in the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "pettito," which means "small" or "petite," suggesting that the name was originally a descriptive nickname for someone of small stature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petitti can be found in a document from the city of Naples, dated 1287, which mentions a "Giovanni Petitti." This suggests that the name was already well-established in Southern Italy at that time.

During the Renaissance period, the Petitti family gained prominence in the city of Siena, where they were involved in the wool trade and held influential positions in the local government. A notable member of this family was Tommaso Petitti (1472-1538), who served as a magistrate and diplomat for the Republic of Siena.

In the 16th century, the name Petitti appeared in a manuscript known as the "Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà Italiana" (Book of Gold of the Italian Nobility), which recorded the noble families of Italy. This indicates that by this time, the Petitti family had achieved a certain level of social and economic status.

One of the earliest records of the name Petitti outside of Italy can be found in a document from the Spanish city of Barcelona, dated 1621, which mentions a "Juan Petitti." This suggests that members of the Petitti family had begun to migrate and establish themselves in other parts of Europe during this period.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Petitti, including:

  1. Vincenzo Petitti (1619-1703), an Italian painter and architect from Naples.
  2. Carlo Ilarione Petitti di Roreto (1762-1841), an Italian politician and economist who served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
  3. Ignazio Petitti (1790-1860), an Italian jurist and politician who played a significant role in the unification of Italy.
  4. Ermenegildo Petitti (1843-1925), an Italian mathematician and astronomer known for his work in celestial mechanics.
  5. Mario Petitti (1896-1981), an Italian-American artist and sculptor who was part of the Ashcan School of American art.

These examples illustrate the widespread and enduring nature of the Petitti surname, which has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries, from artists and scholars to politicians and statesmen.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Petitti

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

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 Petitti was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only96.43%622
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin2.64%17

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 Petitti has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White96.43%97.50%-1.10%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%0.00%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.00%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic2.64%1.91%32.09%

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

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

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