Find out how popular the last name Tosa is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tosa.

Tosa, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tosa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tosa in America

Tosa is the 131379th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tosa surname appeared 129 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tosa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tosa to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tosa

The surname Tosa originated in Italy and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Italian word "tosa," which means "shorn" or "cut short," referring to the act of shearing sheep or trimming hair. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for those involved in the wool trade or sheep shearing.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tosa can be found in the Codice Diplomatico della Lombardia Medievale, a collection of medieval documents from the Lombardy region of Italy, dating back to the 12th century. This record mentions a person named "Albertus Tosa" from the town of Brescia.

In the 14th century, the name Tosa appeared in the Estimo della Città di Firenze, a tax record from the city of Florence, indicating the presence of individuals with this surname in the region during that time.

The Tosa surname is also associated with the town of Tosa, located in the province of Novara, Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. It is possible that the surname originated from this place name or that people from this town adopted the name as a locative surname.

One notable figure with the surname Tosa was Giovanni Battista Tosa (1540-1610), an Italian painter from the late Renaissance period, known for his religious works and portraits.

Another individual of historical significance was Vincenzo Tosa (1703-1779), a Venetian architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings, including the Church of San Moisè in Venice.

In the 19th century, Giuseppe Tosa (1836-1905) was an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Italian Parliament and was involved in the unification of Italy.

The surname Tosa can also be found in other European countries, such as Spain and France, likely due to migration patterns and the spread of the name over time.

It is worth noting that while the name Tosa has been recorded throughout history, it is not considered a particularly common surname, and its prevalence has varied across different regions and time periods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tosa

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tosa.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tosa was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tosa has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tosa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tosa, please contact us.

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