Scali last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Scali

A surname derived from the Italian word "scala" meaning stair or ladder.

Scali, 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 Scali surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scali in America

Scali is the 33036th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scali surname appeared 693 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 Scali.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scali 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 33036 31014 6.31%
Count 693 708 -2.14%
Proportion per 100k 0.23 0.26 -12.24%

The history of the last name Scali

The surname Scali originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Tuscany, around the 12th century. It is derived from the Italian word "scala," which means "stairs" or "ladder." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a prominent set of stairs or worked as a staircase builder.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Scali can be found in medieval Tuscan documents, often referring to prominent families or individuals. One notable example is the Scali family, a powerful banking and mercantile dynasty that rose to prominence in Florence during the 13th and 14th centuries. They were rivals of the illustrious Medici family and played a significant role in the city's political and economic affairs.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in the historic record of the "Cronaca Fiorentina" by Dino Compagni, which documented the events and notable figures of Florence during that time. Another early reference can be found in the "Libro della Memorie" by Matteo Villani, a 14th-century chronicler who mentioned the Scali family in his accounts of Florentine history.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Scali was Gherardo Scali (c. 1270 - c. 1340), a prominent Florentine banker and politician who served as the Gonfalonier of Justice, the highest office in the Florentine republic, in 1317. He was also involved in the construction of the famous Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

Another notable figure was Simone Scali (c. 1285 - c. 1360), a wealthy Florentine merchant and banker who played a significant role in financing the wars of the Republic of Florence against its rivals.

In the 15th century, Giovanni Scali (c. 1420 - c. 1490) was a renowned Italian architect and engineer who designed several important buildings and fortifications in Florence and other parts of Tuscany.

Later, in the 16th century, Gasparo Scali (c. 1540 - c. 1610) was a prominent Italian historian and writer who authored several works on the history of Florence and the Tuscan region.

The surname Scali has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Scali d'Azzurra, a coastal town in the province of Salerno, and Scali di Tor di Valle, a neighborhood in Rome.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scali

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

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 Scali was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.25% 667
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.89% 20

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 Scali has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.25% 96.47% -0.23%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 1.27% (S)%
Hispanic 2.89% 1.98% 37.37%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Scali last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 9, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/scali-surname-popularity/.

"Scali last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/scali-surname-popularity/. Accessed 9 June, 2025

Scali last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/scali-surname-popularity/.

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