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

Valenza, 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 Valenza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Valenza in America

Valenza is the 24982nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Valenza surname appeared 995 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 Valenza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Valenza 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 Valenza

The surname Valenza is of Italian origin and traces its roots back to the medieval period. It is derived from the place name of the town of Valenza, located in the province of Alessandria in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. This place name is believed to have originated from the Latin words "valens" or "valentia," meaning "strength" or "valor."

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Valenza can be found in medieval Italian documents, such as tax records and land registries, from the 13th and 14th centuries. These records often referred to individuals who were originally from or resided in the town of Valenza, thus acquiring the surname Valenza.

One notable historical reference to the name Valenza can be found in the writings of the renowned Italian poet and scholar, Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374). In his literary works, Petrarca mentioned a certain "Giovanni da Valenza," indicating the presence of individuals bearing the surname in the 14th century.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Valenza was Pietro Valenza (c. 1360-1420), a renowned Italian architect and sculptor who contributed to the construction of several notable buildings in the cities of Genoa and Milan.

Another prominent figure was Girolamo Valenza (1497-1572), an Italian humanist scholar and writer who served as a tutor to the noble Gonzaga family in Mantua and authored several works on classical literature and philosophy.

In the 16th century, a member of the Valenza family, Giovanni Battista Valenza (1536-1611), gained recognition as a skilled mathematician and astronomer. He worked as a professor at the University of Bologna and made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and cartography.

During the Renaissance period, the Valenza surname was also associated with the arts, as evidenced by the painter Bartolomeo Valenza (c. 1580-1640), whose works adorned several churches and palaces in various Italian cities, including Rome and Naples.

In the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname Valenza was Antonio Valenza (1714-1787), an Italian jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Kingdom of Naples and authored influential treatises on civil and canon law.

These examples illustrate the historical presence and significance of the surname Valenza, which has its roots firmly grounded in the Italian cultural and intellectual traditions, spanning various fields such as architecture, literature, science, and law.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Valenza

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

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 Valenza 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 Valenza 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 Valenza was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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