Procella
A surname derived from the Latin word "procella" meaning storm or tempest.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Procella. That puts it at #143,149 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Procella 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.
Procella appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#143,149
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Procella in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143149th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Procella, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Procella
The surname Procella has its origins in Italy, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Italian word "procella," which means "storm" or "tempest." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname or an occupational name, possibly referring to someone who lived in a stormy or turbulent area or someone whose personality or behavior was likened to a storm.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Procella can be found in the registers of the city of Genoa, where a certain Guglielmo Procella was mentioned in a document dated 1198. This suggests that the name was already established in the region at that time.
In the 14th century, the Procella family was prominent in the city of Siena, where they held positions of power and influence. A notable member was Francesco Procella, a statesman and diplomat who served as an ambassador for the Republic of Siena in the late 1300s.
During the Renaissance period, the name Procella gained further recognition through the works of several scholars and artists. One of the most renowned figures was Giacomo Procella, a humanist and poet born in Naples in 1490. His works, including a collection of sonnets and odes, were widely acclaimed during his lifetime.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Antonio Procella, a painter active in the 16th century. He was born in Salerno around 1520 and was known for his religious paintings, many of which can still be found in churches across southern Italy.
In the 17th century, the name Procella appeared in various records across Italy, including the birth and marriage registers of several towns and cities. One prominent individual was Giovanni Battista Procella, a lawyer and legal scholar from Genoa who published several treatises on civil and ecclesiastical law between 1650 and 1675.
As the centuries passed, the Procella surname continued to be found in various regions of Italy, with some families establishing themselves in areas like Tuscany, Lazio, and Campania. While not among the most common Italian surnames, it has maintained a presence throughout the country's history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Procella
Among Census respondents with the surname Procella, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Procella bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Procella surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.7%
- Hispanic or Latino19.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.9%
- Two or more races6.9%
- Unknown or suppressed1.7%
FAQ
Procella surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Procella?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Procella. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Procella?
Procella ranks #143,149 in the 2010 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 2010 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Procella. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), 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 Procella.
Has Procella become more or less common over time?
Procella appears here with 2010 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Procella?
Among Census respondents with the surname Procella, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.9%). These figures come from the 2010 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 Procella in the 2010 Census, accounting for 64.7%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Procella appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (64.7%), Hispanic (19.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (6.9%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Procella appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Procella mean?
A surname derived from the Latin word "procella" meaning storm or tempest. 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 2010 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 Procella (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 Procella?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.