2000
#11,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,471
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Ragusa
An Italian locational surname referring to someone from the town of Ragusa in Sicily or Dalmatia.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,620 Americans carry the last name Ragusa. That puts it at #12,872 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,822 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ragusa 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
2.6K
1 in 130,822
Census rank
#12,872
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,285 bearers of the surname Ragusa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12872nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragusa, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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earliest recorded instances of the surname Ragusa can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Siciliae," a collection of historical documents from medieval Sicily, where a nobleman named Rainaldo de Ragusa is mentioned in the year 1154.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ragusa
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragusa, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ragusa 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 Ragusa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 2,073
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 145
- Two or more races1.9% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ragusa
Ragusa 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
#12,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,528
+57 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 654 places
2020
#12,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,285
-243 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 576 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,642 | 2,471 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,296 | 2,528 | 0.86 | +57 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 654 places |
| 2020 | #12,872 | 2,285 | 0.76 | -243 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 576 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 Ragusa 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 | #12,296 | #12,872 | -4.7% |
| Count | 2,528 | 2,285 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.76 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ragusa bearers went from 2,528 to 2,285 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 576 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,296 to #12,872.
FAQ
Ragusa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ragusa?
Name Census estimates that about 2,620 living Americans carry the surname Ragusa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,822 residents.
How common is Ragusa?
Ragusa ranks #12,872 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,285 people with the surname Ragusa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,620), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Ragusa.
Has Ragusa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ragusa went from 2,528 recorded bearers to 2,285. That is a decrease of 243 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,296 to #12,872.
What does the Census say about the background of Ragusa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ragusa, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Ragusa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (2,073 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ragusa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (6.3%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Ragusa (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 Ragusa mean?
An Italian locational surname referring to someone from the town of Ragusa in Sicily or Dalmatia. 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 Ragusa (0.76 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 common is the surname Ragusa?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Ragusa at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.