2000
#43,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 467
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Terracciano
A surname indicating someone from the location of Terracciano, Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 613 Americans carry the last name Terracciano. That puts it at #43,505 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 559,142 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Terracciano 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
613
1 in 559,142
Census rank
#43,505
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
535
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 535 bearers of the surname Terracciano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43505th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Terracciano, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Terracciano
The surname Terracciano originates from Italy and is believed to have first appeared in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Italian word "terraccio," which means a small terrace or platform made of earth or stone. This indicates that the name likely originated from a place name or was used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived on or near a small terrace or raised platform.
The earliest records of the name Terracciano can be found in various Italian municipal archives, particularly in the regions of Campania and Lazio. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in a document from the town of Caserta, dated 1387, which mentions a certain "Nicola Terracciano" as a landowner.
Another notable early bearer of the name was Francesco Terracciano, a 15th-century Neapolitan nobleman and military leader who served under the Aragonese kings of Naples. He was born around 1430 and played a significant role in the conflicts between the Aragonese and the French during the Italian Wars.
In the 16th century, the name Terracciano appeared in the records of the Papal States, with several members of the family serving as clergymen and officials in the Roman Curia. One such individual was Giacomo Terracciano, born in 1542, who was a canon of the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome.
As the centuries passed, the Terracciano name spread to various other regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Umbria, and Abruzzo. In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was the writer and scholar Giambattista Terracciano (1709-1784), who was born in Naples and authored several works on Italian literature and linguistics.
Another prominent figure with the surname Terracciano was the Italian painter and sculptor Vincenzo Terracciano (1770-1847), who was born in Apulia and is known for his works in the Neoclassical style. His paintings and sculptures can be found in various churches and museums throughout Italy.
While the surname Terracciano is most prevalent in Italy, it has also been carried by individuals in other parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Italian immigration. However, the name's origins can be traced back to the medieval Italian regions where it first emerged as a place name or descriptive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terracciano
Among Census respondents with the surname Terracciano, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Terracciano 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 Terracciano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 493
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 17
- Two or more races3.0% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Terracciano
Terracciano 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
#43,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 498
+31 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 177 places
2020
#43,505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 535
+37 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 136 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,546 | 467 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #43,369 | 498 | 0.17 | +31 bearers (+6.6%) | Up 177 places |
| 2020 | #43,505 | 535 | 0.18 | +37 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 136 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 Terracciano 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 | #43,369 | #43,505 | -0.3% |
| Count | 498 | 535 | 7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.18 | 5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Terracciano bearers went from 498 to 535 (+7.4% change). The surname moved down 136 positions in the national ranking, going from #43,369 to #43,505.
FAQ
Terracciano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Terracciano?
Name Census estimates that about 613 living Americans carry the surname Terracciano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 559,142 residents.
How common is Terracciano?
Terracciano ranks #43,505 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 535 people with the surname Terracciano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (613), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Terracciano.
Has Terracciano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Terracciano went from 498 recorded bearers to 535. That is an increase of 37 (+7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #43,369 to #43,505.
What does the Census say about the background of Terracciano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Terracciano, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Terracciano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (493 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Terracciano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Terracciano (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 Terracciano mean?
A surname indicating someone from the location of Terracciano, Italy. 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 Terracciano (0.18 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 Terracciano?
See how many people have the surname Terracciano on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.