2000
#11,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,550
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Vacca
An Italian occupational surname referring to a cowherd or someone who worked with cattle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,627 Americans carry the last name Vacca. That puts it at #12,830 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,474 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vacca 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 Vacca with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 130,474
Census rank
#12,830
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,291 bearers of the surname Vacca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12830th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vacca, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vacca
The surname VACCA is of Italian origin, specifically from the Southern regions of Campania and Calabria. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "vacca," meaning "cow" or "heifer." This likely suggests that the earliest bearers of the name were involved in cattle farming or dairy production.
In the 11th century, the name VACCA can be found in historical records from the region, such as the Codice Diplomatico Barese, a collection of documents from the Archdiocese of Bari. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Petrus Vacca, who lived in Bari, a coastal city in Puglia, in the late 12th century.
During the 13th century, the name appeared in various Italian towns and cities, including Naples and Salerno. In the 14th century, the VACCA surname was also present in the Abruzzo region, as evidenced by records from the town of Lanciano.
One notable bearer of the VACCA surname was Flaminio Vacca, a 16th-century Roman antiquarian and scholar. Born in 1548, he authored several works on the antiquities of Rome, including the "Memorie di Varie Antichità Trovate in Diversi Luoghi della Città di Roma" (Memories of Various Antiquities Found in Various Places in the City of Rome).
Another historical figure with the VACCA surname was Girolamo Vacca, a 17th-century Italian painter and architect. Born in Siena in 1597, he is known for his architectural works in Rome, including the Chiesa di San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Church of St. Charles at the Four Fountains).
In the 18th century, Giuseppe Vacca, a lawyer and politician from Calabria, held the position of President of the Neapolitan Republic in 1799. This short-lived republic was established during the French Revolutionary Wars and lasted only a few months before being overthrown by the Bourbon Monarchy.
During the 19th century, the VACCA surname could be found in various regions of Italy, including Sicily, where the town of Vacca is located in the province of Messina. One notable bearer from this period was Domenico Vacca, a Sicilian painter born in 1825 who specialized in religious and historical scenes.
Over the centuries, the VACCA surname has also been found in different spellings, such as Vacchi, Vaccari, and Vaccaro, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences. Despite its humble origins related to cattle farming, the VACCA surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, and politicians, leaving their mark on Italian history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vacca
Among Census respondents with the surname Vacca, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Vacca 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 Vacca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 1,989
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 242
- Two or more races1.3% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vacca
Vacca 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
#12,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,586
+36 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 707 places
2020
#12,830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,291
-295 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 771 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,352 | 2,550 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,059 | 2,586 | 0.88 | +36 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 707 places |
| 2020 | #12,830 | 2,291 | 0.77 | -295 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 771 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 Vacca 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 | #12,059 | #12,830 | -6.4% |
| Count | 2,586 | 2,291 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.77 | -12.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vacca bearers went from 2,586 to 2,291 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 771 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,059 to #12,830.
FAQ
Vacca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vacca?
Name Census estimates that about 2,627 living Americans carry the surname Vacca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,474 residents.
How common is Vacca?
Vacca ranks #12,830 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,291 people with the surname Vacca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,627), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Vacca.
Has Vacca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vacca went from 2,586 recorded bearers to 2,291. That is a decrease of 295 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,059 to #12,830.
What does the Census say about the background of Vacca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vacca, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Vacca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (1,989 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vacca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (10.6%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Vacca (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 Vacca mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a cowherd or someone who worked with cattle. 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 Vacca (0.77 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 Americans have the surname Vacca?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.