2000
#106,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Spinazola
An Italian surname derived from the vegetable spinach, likely referring to an occupation or place of residence associated with spinach cultivation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Spinazola. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spinazola 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Spinazola in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spinazola, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spinazola
The surname Spinazola has its origins in Italy, specifically in the southern regions of Apulia and Basilicata, where it is believed to have first emerged during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Italian words "spina" meaning "thorn" and "zola" meaning "small," suggesting that the name may have been initially given to someone residing near a patch of thorny bushes or shrubs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Spinazola surname can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of medieval documents from the town of Bari, dating back to the 11th century. The name is mentioned in reference to a landowner named Petrus de Spinazola, who owned properties in the surrounding areas of Bari.
In the 13th century, a noble family bearing the Spinazola surname is documented in the historical records of the Basilicata region. The family held significant influence and owned vast estates in the town of Spinazzola, which is believed to have been named after them or derived its name from the same linguistic root.
During the Renaissance period, several notable individuals with the Spinazola surname emerged. One such figure was Girolamo Spinazola (1460-1532), a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Naples, who served as a judge in the Sacro Regio Consiglio, the highest court in the Kingdom of Naples.
Another notable figure was Antonio Spinazola (1570-1634), a Baroque painter from the town of Trani in Apulia. His works, which often depicted religious themes, can be found in various churches and museums throughout southern Italy.
In the 18th century, Giuseppe Spinazola (1720-1789) was a prominent architect from Bari who designed several notable buildings, including the Church of San Nicola in his hometown.
Moving into the 19th century, Vittorio Spinazzola (1845-1923) was a celebrated Italian archaeologist and art historian. He led numerous excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum, contributing significantly to our understanding of ancient Roman culture and architecture.
Throughout its history, the Spinazola surname has been associated with various place names and locations in southern Italy, such as Spinazzola in Basilicata, Spinazzola di Puglia in Apulia, and Spinazzola di Napoli in the region of Campania.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spinazola
Among Census respondents with the surname Spinazola, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Spinazola 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 Spinazola surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 110
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spinazola
Spinazola 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
#117,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 148
-7 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 11,003 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-38 bearers (-25.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 31,966 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #106,477 | 155 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #117,480 | 148 | 0.05 | -7 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 11,003 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -38 bearers (-25.7%) | Down 31,966 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 Spinazola 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 | #117,480 | #149,446 | -27.2% |
| Count | 148 | 110 | -25.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -26.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spinazola bearers went from 148 to 110 (-25.7% change). The surname moved down 31,966 positions in the national ranking, going from #117,480 to #149,446.
FAQ
Spinazola surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spinazola?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Spinazola. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Spinazola?
Spinazola ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Spinazola. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Spinazola.
Has Spinazola become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spinazola went from 148 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 38 (-25.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #117,480 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Spinazola?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spinazola, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Spinazola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spinazola appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Spinazola (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 Spinazola mean?
An Italian surname derived from the vegetable spinach, likely referring to an occupation or place of residence associated with spinach cultivation. 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 Spinazola (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 common is the surname Spinazola?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Spinazola? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.