2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Travaglia
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "travaglium," meaning toil or struggle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Travaglia. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Travaglia 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Travaglia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Travaglia, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Travaglia
The surname Travaglia originated in Italy, specifically in the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "travaglio," which means "labor" or "toil." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked hard or had a particularly laborious occupation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Travaglia can be found in the records of the city of Asti, in the Piedmont region, dating back to the 14th century. A document from 1379 mentions a certain Guglielmo Travaglia, who was a landowner in the area.
In the 15th century, the name appears in several historical records from the nearby city of Milan. Among these is a reference to a Francesco Travaglia, who was a merchant and member of the city's elite merchant guild in the year 1472.
As the surname spread across Italy, it also took on various spellings, such as Travaglini, Travaglio, and Travagliato. These variations can be found in records from different regions and time periods.
One notable individual who bore the surname Travaglia was Giovanni Battista Travaglia (1696-1770), an Italian architect and engineer who was born in Milan. He is best known for his work on the construction of the famous Naviglio Grande canal, which connected Milan to the Ticino River.
Another person of historical significance with this surname was Gerolamo Travaglia (1818-1890), an Italian politician and journalist who was a prominent figure in the Risorgimento movement, which led to the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
In the 20th century, Riccardo Travaglia (1908-1976) was an Italian painter and sculptor from Milan who gained recognition for his abstract expressionist works and his use of unconventional materials such as metal and plastic.
Carlo Travaglia (1892-1964) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who worked in the early days of Italian cinema, directing numerous silent films in the 1920s and 1930s.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Giulio Travaglia (1887-1957), an Italian engineer and inventor who is credited with developing one of the earliest versions of the modern mechanical pencil sharpener.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Travaglia
Among Census respondents with the surname Travaglia, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Travaglia 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 Travaglia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Travaglia
Travaglia 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
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-7 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,191 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 8,191 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 Travaglia 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 | #138,304 | #146,495 | -5.9% |
| Count | 121 | 114 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Travaglia bearers went from 121 to 114 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 8,191 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #146,495.
FAQ
Travaglia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Travaglia?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Travaglia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Travaglia?
Travaglia ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Travaglia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Travaglia.
Has Travaglia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Travaglia went from 121 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Travaglia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Travaglia, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Travaglia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Travaglia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (10.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Travaglia (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 Travaglia mean?
An Italian surname derived from the Latin word "travaglium," meaning toil or struggle. 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 Travaglia (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 are called Travaglia?
Want to know how many people have the surname Travaglia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.