2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pianelli
An Italian surname likely derived from the word "piano" meaning "flat" or "level."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Pianelli. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pianelli 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Pianelli in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pianelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pianelli
The surname Pianelli originated in Italy. It is a locative name referring to a person from the town of Pianello, which is found in various regions of Italy, including Lombardy, Tuscany, and Umbria. The name derives from the Italian word "pianello," meaning a small flat area or plain.
In the 13th century, the name Pianelli appeared in records from the region of Umbria, particularly in the town of Spoleto. One of the earliest recorded instances was Giacomo Pianelli, a merchant who lived in Spoleto in the late 1200s.
The name Pianelli can also be found in historical records from the Tuscan city of Siena during the 14th century. In 1312, a document mentions a certain Pietro Pianelli, who was a member of the city's council.
In the 15th century, the Pianelli surname was present in the town of Pianello Val Tidone, located in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. Records from this period mention a family of landowners with the name Pianelli, who owned several properties in the area.
One notable individual with the surname Pianelli was Giovanni Battista Pianelli, a Renaissance painter who lived in the 16th century. Born in Spoleto in 1520, he is known for his religious paintings and frescoes adorning churches in his hometown and nearby towns.
Another prominent figure was Gian Domenico Pianelli, a 17th-century architect and engineer from Piacenza. He was responsible for the design and construction of several important buildings in the city, including the Church of San Francesco and the Palazzo Farnese.
In the 18th century, the Pianelli family produced a renowned scholar, Cesare Pianelli, who was born in Siena in 1742. He was a professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Siena and authored several influential works on metaphysics and ethics.
During the 19th century, the name Pianelli appeared in various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Umbria, and Emilia-Romagna. One notable individual from this period was Vincenzo Pianelli, a politician and lawyer from Piacenza, who served as a deputy in the Italian Parliament in the late 1800s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pianelli
Among Census respondents with the surname Pianelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Pianelli 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 Pianelli surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino18.2% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pianelli
Pianelli appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-9 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,473 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 4,473 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 Pianelli 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 | #151,532 | #156,005 | -3.0% |
| Count | 108 | 99 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pianelli bearers went from 108 to 99 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 4,473 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #156,005.
FAQ
Pianelli surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pianelli?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Pianelli. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Pianelli?
Pianelli ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 99 people with the surname Pianelli. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pianelli.
Has Pianelli become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pianelli went from 108 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Pianelli?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pianelli, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%). 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 Pianelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (81 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pianelli appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.8%), Hispanic (18.2%). 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 Pianelli (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 Pianelli mean?
An Italian surname likely derived from the word "piano" meaning "flat" or "level." 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 Pianelli (0.03 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 people share the surname Pianelli?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.