2000
#11,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,442
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Petrella
Derived from a place name meaning "little rock" in Italian, likely referring to someone who lived near a small rock formation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,300 Americans carry the last name Petrella. That puts it at #14,345 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,024 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petrella 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.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 149,024
Census rank
#14,345
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,006 bearers of the surname Petrella in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14345th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrella, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrella
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrella, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Petrella 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 Petrella surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 1,889
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 64
- Two or more races1.4% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petrella
Petrella 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
#10,924
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,913
+471 bearers (+19.3%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Up 829 places
2020
#14,345
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,006
-907 bearers (-31.1%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 3,421 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,753 | 2,442 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,924 | 2,913 | 0.99 | +471 bearers (+19.3%) | Up 829 places |
| 2020 | #14,345 | 2,006 | 0.67 | -907 bearers (-31.1%) | Down 3,421 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 Petrella 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 | #10,924 | #14,345 | -31.3% |
| Count | 2,913 | 2,006 | -31.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.67 | -32.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petrella bearers went from 2,913 to 2,006 (-31.1% change). The surname moved down 3,421 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,924 to #14,345.
FAQ
Petrella surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petrella?
Name Census estimates that about 2,300 living Americans carry the surname Petrella. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,024 residents.
How common is Petrella?
Petrella ranks #14,345 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,006 people with the surname Petrella. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,300), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Petrella.
Has Petrella become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petrella went from 2,913 recorded bearers to 2,006. That is a decrease of 907 (-31.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,924 to #14,345.
What does the Census say about the background of Petrella?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrella, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Petrella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (1,889 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petrella appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Petrella (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 Petrella mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "little rock" in Italian, likely referring to someone who lived near a small rock formation. 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 Petrella (0.67 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 common is the surname Petrella?
See how common the surname Petrella is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.