2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Porrovecchio
A surname suggesting an old person from the Italian city of Porro.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Porrovecchio. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Porrovecchio 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Porrovecchio in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Porrovecchio, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Porrovecchio
The surname PORROVECCHIO has its origins in Italy, dating back to the medieval period. The name is believed to have derived from the Italian words "porro" meaning "leek" and "vecchio" meaning "old." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with someone involved in the cultivation or trade of leeks, or perhaps an area known for its leek production.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname PORROVECCHIO can be found in the Catasto Onciario, a land registry compiled in Sicily in the early 16th century. The document mentions a landowner by the name of Vincenzo PORROVECCHIO, indicating that the surname was already established in the region by that time.
In the late 16th century, the PORROVECCHIO name appears in several church records from the town of Montecatini Terme in Tuscany. One notable entry is the baptismal record of Giulia PORROVECCHIO, born in 1587 to parents Giovanni and Caterina PORROVECCHIO.
During the 17th century, the PORROVECCHIO surname spread across various regions of Italy. A prominent figure bearing this name was Girolamo PORROVECCHIO (1620-1697), a Jesuit priest and scholar from Naples who authored several theological treatises.
In the 18th century, the PORROVECCHIO name can be found in Venetian records, with a certain Pietro PORROVECCHIO (1734-1803) being a respected merchant and landowner in the city of Venice.
Another notable individual with the PORROVECCHIO surname was Antonio PORROVECCHIO (1789-1867), a military officer from Genoa who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a prominent politician in the Kingdom of Sardinia.
As the centuries progressed, the PORROVECCHIO surname continued to be found across various regions of Italy, with some family members migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. However, it remained a relatively uncommon name, particularly outside of Italy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Porrovecchio
Among Census respondents with the surname Porrovecchio, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Porrovecchio 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 Porrovecchio surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino9.0% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Porrovecchio
Porrovecchio 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+5 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,267 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,361 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 4,267 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 10,361 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 Porrovecchio 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 | #138,304 | #148,665 | -7.5% |
| Count | 121 | 111 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Porrovecchio bearers went from 121 to 111 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 10,361 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #148,665.
FAQ
Porrovecchio surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Porrovecchio?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Porrovecchio. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Porrovecchio?
Porrovecchio ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Porrovecchio. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Porrovecchio.
Has Porrovecchio become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Porrovecchio went from 121 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Porrovecchio?
Among Census respondents with the surname Porrovecchio, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Porrovecchio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Porrovecchio appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Hispanic (9.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Porrovecchio (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 Porrovecchio mean?
A surname suggesting an old person from the Italian city of Porro. 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 Porrovecchio (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 people are called Porrovecchio?
Want to know how many people have the last name Porrovecchio? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.