2000
#12,883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,190
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Tartaglia
An Italian nickname meaning "stammerer" or "stutterer," likely referring to an ancestor with a speech impediment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,376 Americans carry the last name Tartaglia. That puts it at #13,940 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,257 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tartaglia 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tartaglia with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 144,257
Census rank
#13,940
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,072 bearers of the surname Tartaglia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13940th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tartaglia, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tartaglia
The surname Tartaglia originates from Italy, appearing as early as the 13th century. It is thought to have derived from the Italian word "tartaglia," which means "stutterer" or "one who stammers." This suggests that the name may have originally been a nickname given to someone with a speech impediment.
The earliest known record of the surname dates back to 1279 in Florence, Italy, where a man named Bartolomeo Tartaglia was mentioned in a legal document. Over the centuries, variations in spelling emerged, such as Tartagli, Tartaglio, and Tartaja.
One of the most famous people to bear the name Tartaglia was Niccolò Tartaglia (1499-1557), a renowned Italian mathematician, engineer, and writer. He is best known for his contributions to the study of ballistics and for discovering the solution to cubic equations, which he famously kept secret for several years.
Another notable figure was Riccardo Tartaglia (1574-1642), an Italian painter and architect who worked extensively in Rome and Naples. His most notable works include the frescoes in the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Naples.
In the 16th century, a family named Tartaglia resided in the town of Castiglione delle Stiviere in Lombardy, Italy. One member of this family, Gian Battista Tartaglia (1530-1594), was a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the city of Milan.
The name Tartaglia can also be found in historical records from other parts of Italy, such as Venice and Piedmont. In the 17th century, a man named Giovanni Battista Tartaglia (1608-1677) was a prominent merchant and banker in the city of Turin.
Throughout the centuries, the surname Tartaglia has been carried by numerous individuals across various professions, including artists, writers, scientists, and military figures. While the name may have originated as a nickname, it has since become a respected and well-established Italian surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tartaglia
Among Census respondents with the surname Tartaglia, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tartaglia 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 Tartaglia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 1,847
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 134
- Two or more races2.9% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- Black or African American0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tartaglia
Tartaglia 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
#13,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,214
+24 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 791 places
2020
#13,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,072
-142 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 266 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,883 | 2,190 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,674 | 2,214 | 0.75 | +24 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 791 places |
| 2020 | #13,940 | 2,072 | 0.69 | -142 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 266 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 Tartaglia 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 | #13,674 | #13,940 | -1.9% |
| Count | 2,214 | 2,072 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.69 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tartaglia bearers went from 2,214 to 2,072 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 266 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,674 to #13,940.
FAQ
Tartaglia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tartaglia?
Name Census estimates that about 2,376 living Americans carry the surname Tartaglia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,257 residents.
How common is Tartaglia?
Tartaglia ranks #13,940 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,072 people with the surname Tartaglia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,376), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Tartaglia.
Has Tartaglia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tartaglia went from 2,214 recorded bearers to 2,072. That is a decrease of 142 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,674 to #13,940.
What does the Census say about the background of Tartaglia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tartaglia, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Tartaglia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (1,847 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tartaglia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (6.5%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Tartaglia (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 Tartaglia mean?
An Italian nickname meaning "stammerer" or "stutterer," likely referring to an ancestor with a speech impediment. 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 Tartaglia (0.69 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 Tartaglia?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Tartaglia at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.