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

Ragusa, 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 Ragusa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ragusa in America

Ragusa is the 12296th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ragusa surname appeared 2,528 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ragusa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ragusa 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 Ragusa

The surname Ragusa originates from the city of Ragusa, located on the island of Sicily, Italy. It dates back to the medieval period when surnames were derived from the places where people lived or were born.

The name Ragusa is believed to have its roots in the Arabic term "Ragusia," which means "beautiful." This suggests that the name may have been given to the city by its Arab rulers during their occupation of Sicily in the 9th and 10th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ragusa can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Siciliae," a collection of historical documents from medieval Sicily, where a nobleman named Rainaldo de Ragusa is mentioned in the year 1154.

In the 13th century, a nobleman named Guglielmo Ragusa was recorded as a participant in the Sicilian Vespers, a rebellion against the Angevin rule in Sicily in 1282. This event played a significant role in the island's history and the formation of the Kingdom of Sicily.

During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the surname Ragusa was Giovanni Filippo de Ragusa, a Sicilian painter and architect who lived from 1460 to 1520. His works can still be admired in churches and buildings across Sicily.

Another prominent individual with the surname Ragusa was Francesco di Ragusa, a Sicilian philosopher and theologian who lived from 1541 to 1624. He was a member of the Order of Friars Minor and wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy.

In the 18th century, a Sicilian nobleman named Vincenzo Ragusa played a significant role in the defense of Palermo during the War of the Spanish Succession. His bravery and leadership earned him recognition and honors from the Spanish crown.

The surname Ragusa has also been found in various spellings, such as Raguza, Ragusano, and Ragusano, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic influences in Sicily over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ragusa

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

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

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

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