2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Spisso
A surname of Italian origin potentially referring to someone who was thick or dense in nature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Spisso. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spisso 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Spisso in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spisso, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spisso
The surname Spisso originated in Italy during the late medieval period, specifically in the northern regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "spesso," meaning "thick" or "dense," likely referring to a physical characteristic or occupation of the original bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Liber Consuetudinum Mediolani" (Book of Customs of Milan), a legal document from the 13th century, where a certain Giacomo Spisso is mentioned as a merchant and landowner in the city of Milan.
In the 14th century, the Spisso family gained prominence in the town of Vercelli, located in the Piedmont region. Records from this period show that a Guglielmo Spisso (born around 1320) was a respected member of the local nobility and served as a magistrate in the city's court.
The name Spisso can also be traced back to the small village of Spissano, near the town of Crema in Lombardy. It is believed that some members of the Spisso family may have originated from or held lands in this area, leading to the adoption of the place name as a surname.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Spisso was Pietro Spisso (1425-1492), a renowned scholar and philosopher who taught at the University of Bologna and authored several works on logic and metaphysics.
Another notable individual was Giovanni Battista Spisso (1562-1628), a skilled architect and engineer from Milan who was commissioned to design several important buildings and fortifications in various Italian cities during the Renaissance period.
Throughout the centuries, the Spisso surname has been found in various spellings, such as Spissio, Spissore, and Spissotti, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences.
While the name Spisso is not widely common today, it continues to maintain its roots in the northern Italian regions, particularly in the areas around Milan, Vercelli, and Crema, where descendants of the original Spisso families can still be found.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spisso
Among Census respondents with the surname Spisso, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Spisso 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 Spisso surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 8
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spisso
Spisso appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+10 bearers (+9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,047 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.9%) | Up 11,047 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 Spisso 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 | #159,712 | #148,665 | 6.9% |
| Count | 101 | 111 | 9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 23.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spisso bearers went from 101 to 111 (+9.9% change). The surname moved up 11,047 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #148,665.
FAQ
Spisso surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spisso?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Spisso. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Spisso?
Spisso ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Spisso. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Spisso.
Has Spisso become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spisso went from 101 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 10 (+9.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Spisso?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spisso, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Spisso in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spisso appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (7.2%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Spisso (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 Spisso mean?
A surname of Italian origin potentially referring to someone who was thick or dense in nature. 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 Spisso (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 people have the last name Spisso?
Find out how many people have the last name Spisso on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.