2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pietanza
An Italian surname meaning "food course" or "dish of food".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Pietanza. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pietanza 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Pietanza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pietanza, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pietanza
The surname Pietanza originates from Italy, specifically the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, dating back to the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian word "pietanza," meaning a course or dish served at a meal, which in turn comes from the Latin "pietantia."
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Estimo Veneto, a Venetian tax record from the 15th century, where a certain Bartolomeo Pietanza is listed as a resident of the city of Padua. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the Veneto region by that time.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Giovanni Battista Pietanza, a Franciscan friar and theologian from Bergamo, who wrote several works on religious philosophy and ethics. He was born in 1505 and died in 1579.
Another individual of note was Antonio Pietanza, a painter from Milan who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Some of his works can still be found in churches and private collections throughout northern Italy.
During the Renaissance period, the Pietanza family was prominent in the city of Verona, where they held noble status and were involved in local politics and governance. One member, Girolamo Pietanza (1540-1612), served as a magistrate and ambassador for the Venetian Republic.
In the 18th century, there was a renowned musician named Giuseppe Pietanza (1715-1786), who was a violinist and composer from Venice. He is credited with several operas and concertos that were performed across Europe during his lifetime.
The surname Pietanza has also been associated with certain place names in Italy, such as the town of Pietanza Vecchia in the province of Bergamo, which likely derived its name from a prominent local family bearing this surname in medieval times.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pietanza
Among Census respondents with the surname Pietanza, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pietanza 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 Pietanza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pietanza
Pietanza 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
+17 bearers (+15.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,535 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-9 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,582 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+15.3%) | Up 6,535 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 10,582 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 Pietanza 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 | #132,206 | #142,788 | -8.0% |
| Count | 128 | 119 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pietanza bearers went from 128 to 119 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 10,582 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #142,788.
FAQ
Pietanza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pietanza?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Pietanza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Pietanza?
Pietanza ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Pietanza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Pietanza.
Has Pietanza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pietanza went from 128 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Pietanza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pietanza, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Pietanza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pietanza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Pietanza (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 Pietanza mean?
An Italian surname meaning "food course" or "dish of food". 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 Pietanza (0.04 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 Pietanza?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.