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

Petrella, 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 Petrella surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Petrella in America

Petrella is the 10924th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Petrella surname appeared 2,913 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 Petrella.

We can also compare 2010 data for Petrella 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 Petrella

The surname Petrella has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "pietra," meaning "stone" or "rock," and is likely a topographic name that referred to someone who lived near a rocky area or a house built of stone.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petrella can be found in a document from the 13th century, which mentions a family with this surname residing in the town of Petrella Salto, located in the province of Rieti, in the region of Lazio.

In the 14th century, the name Petrella appeared in various records from the Abruzzo region, particularly in the towns of Petrella Tifernina and Petrella Liri. It is possible that the name originated in these areas and then spread to other parts of Italy.

During the Renaissance, the Petrella family produced several notable figures, including Girolamo Petrella (1541-1626), a prominent architect who worked on the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and Bartolomeo Petrella (1637-1719), a celebrated painter from the Baroque era.

In the 18th century, Giuseppe Petrella (1738-1819) was a renowned composer and music teacher who worked in Naples and is considered one of the foremost representatives of the Neapolitan school of opera.

Another notable figure was Antonio Petrella (1874-1944), an Italian politician and journalist who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and was a vocal critic of the Fascist regime during the early 20th century.

It is worth noting that the surname Petrella is also found in other variations, such as Petrelli, Petrillo, and Petrini, which likely emerged from the same etymological root and may have been influenced by regional dialects or spelling variations over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Petrella

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

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

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

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