2000
#15,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,688
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Pilla
An Italian occupational surname referring to a ball game player or a topographic name for someone living near a boundary stone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,881 Americans carry the last name Pilla. That puts it at #16,947 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 182,219 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pilla 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
1.9K
1 in 182,219
Census rank
#16,947
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,640 bearers of the surname Pilla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16947th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pilla, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pilla
The surname PILLA has its origins in the Italian language and is believed to have first emerged in the region of Tuscany during the 13th century. It is derived from the Italian word "pilla," which means a small ball or sphere, suggesting that the name may have initially been a nickname for someone who worked with or made balls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the PILLA surname can be found in the historic Florentine tax records of the late 13th century, where a certain "Gherardo Pilla" is mentioned as a resident of the city. This indicates that the name was already in use by that time.
In the 14th century, the PILLA name appeared in several documents from the town of Siena, including records of land ownership and legal transactions. One notable individual from this period was Bartolomeo Pilla, a merchant and member of the city's council, who lived between 1320 and 1387.
The PILLA surname also has connections to the small town of Pilla, located in the province of Campobasso in the Molise region of southern Italy. It is possible that some bearers of the name may have originated from this location or adopted the name as a reference to their place of origin.
In the 16th century, the PILLA name gained recognition through the work of Gian Vincenzo Pilla, a renowned Italian mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1535 to 1600. His contributions included the development of advanced methods for calculating planetary orbits and the publication of several influential treatises on astronomy.
Another notable figure with the PILLA surname was Leopoldo Pilla, an Italian philosopher and writer who lived from 1805 to 1848. He was known for his works on ethics and social philosophy, as well as his advocacy for political and social reforms in Italy during the early 19th century.
In more recent times, the PILLA surname has been associated with several notable individuals, such as Aldo Pilla, an Italian actor and filmmaker born in 1926, and Antonio Pilla, an Italian politician and member of the European Parliament who was born in 1934.
While the PILLA surname has its roots in Italy, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration, particularly to countries with significant Italian communities, such as the United States, Canada, and Argentina.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pilla
Among Census respondents with the surname Pilla, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pilla 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 Pilla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 1,260
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.0% · 246
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 93
- Two or more races2.3% · 37
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pilla
Pilla 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
#15,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,968
+280 bearers (+16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 830 places
2020
#16,947
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,640
-328 bearers (-16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 1,942 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,835 | 1,688 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,005 | 1,968 | 0.67 | +280 bearers (+16.6%) | Up 830 places |
| 2020 | #16,947 | 1,640 | 0.55 | -328 bearers (-16.7%) | Down 1,942 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 Pilla 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 | #15,005 | #16,947 | -12.9% |
| Count | 1,968 | 1,640 | -16.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.55 | -18.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pilla bearers went from 1,968 to 1,640 (-16.7% change). The surname moved down 1,942 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,005 to #16,947.
FAQ
Pilla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pilla?
Name Census estimates that about 1,881 living Americans carry the surname Pilla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 182,219 residents.
How common is Pilla?
Pilla ranks #16,947 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.55 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 1,640 people with the surname Pilla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,881), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.55 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 Pilla.
Has Pilla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pilla went from 1,968 recorded bearers to 1,640. That is a decrease of 328 (-16.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,005 to #16,947.
What does the Census say about the background of Pilla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pilla, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Pilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (1,260 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pilla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (15.0%), Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Pilla (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 Pilla mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a ball game player or a topographic name for someone living near a boundary stone. 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 Pilla (0.55 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 Pilla?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.