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

Pittas, 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 Pittas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pittas in America

Pittas is the 86314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pittas surname appeared 216 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pittas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pittas 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 Pittas

The surname PITTAS is believed to have originated from the Greek island of Crete during the Byzantine era. It is derived from the Greek word "pitas," which means "bread" or "loaf." This suggests that the name may have been used to identify bakers or those involved in the production of bread.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PITTAS appears in a manuscript dating back to the 14th century, found in the archives of the Monastery of St. Catherine in Heraklion, Crete. This document mentions a landowner named Georgios PITTAS, who owned a vineyard in the village of Archanes.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Ioannis PITTAS was a merchant and shipping magnate based in the port city of Chania, Crete. He was known for his extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean and his involvement in the export of Cretan wines and olive oil.

During the Venetian rule of Crete (1205-1669), the PITTAS family was among the noble families of the island. A notable member was Manolis PITTAS, who served as a military commander in the Venetian army and played a crucial role in defending Crete against Ottoman invasions in the 17th century.

In the late 18th century, a scholar and poet named Alexandros PITTAS gained recognition for his contributions to the Greek Enlightenment movement. Born in Heraklion in 1760, he authored several works promoting education and the revitalization of Greek language and culture.

Another notable figure with the surname PITTAS was Michalis PITTAS, a revolutionary fighter who participated in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. He was born in the village of Mousouri, Crete, in 1786 and played a significant role in organizing local resistance movements on the island.

Throughout history, variations of the name PITTAS have been found in different regions, such as PITTAS, PITAS, and PETTA, reflecting regional linguistic variations and dialects within Greece and the Greek diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pittas

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

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

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

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