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

Vespucci, 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 Vespucci surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vespucci in America

Vespucci is the 107669th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vespucci surname appeared 165 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 Vespucci.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vespucci 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 Vespucci

The surname VESPUCCI originated in Italy during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Italian word "vespuccio," which means "little wasp." This name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for an ancestor who exhibited some wasp-like characteristics, such as being easily irritated or having a slim, agile build.

The VESPUCCI surname is most closely associated with the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512), after whom the continents of North and South America were named. Vespucci was born in Florence and made several voyages to the New World in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His writings and maps played a crucial role in establishing that the Americas were separate landmasses, distinct from Asia.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the VESPUCCI surname appears in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century manuscript that documented the history and culture of the Aztec people. The manuscript mentions a Florentine navigator named Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to the New World in 1497.

Another notable figure with the VESPUCCI surname was Giovanni Vespucci (1439-1512), an Italian banker and diplomat who served as the Florentine ambassador to France. He was also a distant cousin of Amerigo Vespucci.

In the 17th century, a branch of the VESPUCCI family settled in the Papal States, where they became prominent landowners and nobles. One member of this branch, Girolamo Vespucci (1620-1701), was a renowned scholar and author who wrote extensively on philosophy, theology, and literature.

During the Renaissance, the VESPUCCI name was also associated with the arts. Simone Vespucci (1525-1593) was a Florentine painter and sculptor who worked in the Mannerist style. His works can be found in churches and museums throughout Italy.

In the 18th century, a VESPUCCI family settled in the Kingdom of Naples, where they became prominent in the military and political spheres. Niccolò Vespucci (1750-1822) was a Neapolitan general who fought against the French during the Napoleonic Wars.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vespucci

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

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

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

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