2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Torrella
A surname of Spanish origin referring to someone residing near a small tower or turret.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Torrella. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Torrella 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Torrella in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Torrella, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Torrella
The surname Torrella is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the Catalan word "torrell," which means a young bull or calf. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone who exhibited traits similar to a young bull, such as strength or stubbornness.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Torrella can be found in various historical documents from the region of Catalonia, which was part of the Crown of Aragon during the medieval period. In the 14th century, the name Torrella appeared in several municipal records from the city of Barcelona, indicating that families with this surname were residing in the area at that time.
One notable historical reference to the name Torrella is in the "Llibre del Consolat de Mar," a code of maritime laws compiled in Barcelona during the late 13th century. This document mentions a certain Guillem Torrella, who was a merchant and navigator involved in maritime trade in the Mediterranean.
In the 15th century, the Torrella family gained prominence in the city of Valencia. Juan Torrella (c. 1435-1497) was a renowned physician and philosopher who served as the personal doctor to Pope Callixtus III. His treatise on the plague, titled "Dialogus de Dolore cum Tractatu de Ulceribus," was widely influential in the field of medicine during the Renaissance period.
Another distinguished individual with the surname Torrella was Gaspar Torrella (c. 1452-1520), a Spanish clergyman and diplomat who served as the Archbishop of Santa Severina in Calabria, Italy. He played a crucial role in negotiating peace treaties between various European powers during the Italian Wars.
In the 16th century, the Torrella family also had a presence in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. One notable figure was Diego Torrella (c. 1570-1640), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile and later served as the governor of the city of Concepción.
As the centuries passed, the Torrella surname spread across Spain and its territories, and variations such as Torella and Turella emerged. However, the name remained closely associated with its Catalan roots and the regions of Catalonia and Valencia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Torrella
Among Census respondents with the surname Torrella, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Torrella 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 Torrella surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino56.2% · 68
- White24.8% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.7% · 19
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Torrella
Torrella 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+7 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,393 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+5 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,840 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 2,393 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.3%) | Up 1,840 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 Torrella 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 | #143,149 | #141,309 | 1.3% |
| Count | 116 | 121 | 4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Torrella bearers went from 116 to 121 (+4.3% change). The surname moved up 1,840 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #141,309.
FAQ
Torrella surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Torrella?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Torrella. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Torrella?
Torrella ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Torrella. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Torrella.
Has Torrella become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Torrella went from 116 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 5 (+4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #143,149 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Torrella?
Among Census respondents with the surname Torrella, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.7%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Torrella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.2% (68 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Torrella appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (56.2%), White (24.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (15.7%). 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 Torrella (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 Torrella mean?
A surname of Spanish origin referring to someone residing near a small tower or turret. 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 Torrella (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 Torrella?
Find out how many people are called Torrella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.