2000
#1,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,039
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.54
Uncommon Last name
Valle
A toponymic surname indicating someone who lived in or came from a valley or dale.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 35,512 Americans carry the last name Valle. That puts it at #1,116 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,652 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Valle 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 Valle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
36K
1 in 9,652
Census rank
#1,116
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 30,968 bearers of the surname Valle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1116th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Valle, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Valle
The surname Valle originated in Italy and is derived from the Italian word "valle" meaning "valley". It is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont during the Middle Ages, likely as a descriptive name for someone who lived in or near a valley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Valle can be found in the early 13th century, in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of historical documents from the Campania region of southern Italy. This suggests that the name may have also been present in other parts of the country during that time period.
In the late 13th century, the Valle surname appears in the Statuti di Verona, a set of medieval statutes from the city of Verona, indicating its presence in the Veneto region as well. The name is sometimes found spelled as "Vali" or "Valis" in these early records.
The Valle surname is also associated with several notable historical figures. One example is Andrea Valle (c. 1270-1348), an Italian jurist and legal scholar from Padua who served as a judge and diplomat for the Republic of Venice.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Pietro della Valle (1586-1652), an Italian traveler and writer who is best known for his extensive travels throughout Asia and his detailed accounts of the regions he visited, including Persia, India, and the Middle East.
In the 16th century, the Valle family established themselves as influential nobility in the Kingdom of Naples, with members holding various titles and positions of power. One notable member was Giulio Cesare della Valle (1624-1708), a prince and military leader who served as the Viceroy of Sicily in the late 17th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Valle include Guido della Valle (c. 1295-1367), an Italian cardinal and diplomat who played a significant role in the Avignon Papacy, and Battista della Valle (c. 1450-1501), an Italian architect and sculptor who worked on several important projects in Rome during the Renaissance period.
While the Valle surname is most commonly associated with Italy, it has also been adopted in other parts of Europe and the Americas, particularly in Spanish-speaking regions, where it is often spelled as "Valle" or "Del Valle".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valle
Among Census respondents with the surname Valle, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Valle 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 Valle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.8% · 26,875
- White9.9% · 3,056
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 578
- Black or African American0.6% · 198
- Two or more races0.6% · 191
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 70
Timeline
Historical Census data for Valle
Valle 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
#1,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,716
+8,677 bearers (+37.7%)
Per 100,000 10.75
Rank movement Up 311 places
2020
#1,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,968
-748 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 10.36
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,415 | 23,039 | 8.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,104 | 31,716 | 10.75 | +8,677 bearers (+37.7%) | Up 311 places |
| 2020 | #1,116 | 30,968 | 10.36 | -748 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 12 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 Valle 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 | #1,104 | #1,116 | -1.1% |
| Count | 31,716 | 30,968 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 10.75 | 10.36 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Valle bearers went from 31,716 to 30,968 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,104 to #1,116.
FAQ
Valle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Valle?
Name Census estimates that about 35,512 living Americans carry the surname Valle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,652 residents.
How common is Valle?
Valle ranks #1,116 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 30,968 people with the surname Valle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (35,512), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Valle.
Has Valle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Valle went from 31,716 recorded bearers to 30,968. That is a decrease of 748 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,104 to #1,116.
What does the Census say about the background of Valle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Valle, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Valle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (26,875 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Valle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (86.8%), White (9.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Valle (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 Valle mean?
A toponymic surname indicating someone who lived in or came from a valley or dale. 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 Valle (10.36 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 surname Valle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.