2000
#2,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,357
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.95
Uncommon Last name
Ferrara
Italian locational surname referring to someone from the city of Ferrara in Northern Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,616 Americans carry the last name Ferrara. That puts it at #2,752 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,451 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ferrara 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 Ferrara with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 23,451
Census rank
#2,752
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,746 bearers of the surname Ferrara in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2752nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferrara, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ferrara
The surname Ferrara has its origins in Italy, where it first emerged during the medieval period. Derived from the Italian place name Ferrara, which is a city located in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, the name likely referred to someone who hailed from that city or its surrounding areas.
Ferrara itself is an ancient settlement, with its name possibly stemming from the Latin word "ferrarius," meaning "blacksmith" or "iron worker." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, referring to those involved in metalworking professions.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ferrara can be found in historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in Italy. One notable example is Bartolomeo Ferrara, a Franciscan friar born in Ferrara around 1230 who later became a renowned scholar and theologian.
During the Renaissance period, the Ferrara name gained prominence due to the powerful Este family, who ruled over the Duchy of Ferrara from the 13th to the 16th centuries. One of the most renowned members of this dynasty was Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), who married Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, in 1501.
Another prominent figure with the Ferrara surname was Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), a Dominican friar and influential religious reformer who was born in Ferrara but later moved to Florence, where he played a pivotal role in the city's political and religious affairs.
In the realm of art, the Ferrara name is associated with Girolamo da Ferrara (c.1445-c.1500), an Italian Renaissance painter and illuminator who was active in Ferrara and other Italian cities during the latter half of the 15th century.
As the name spread beyond Italy, it also gained a foothold in other parts of Europe and the Americas. For example, Juan Ferrara (c.1545-c.1610) was a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the New World in the late 16th century.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the Ferrara surname throughout history, highlighting its rich Italian heritage and the various fields in which it has been represented over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ferrara
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferrara, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ferrara 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 Ferrara surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 11,546
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 674
- Two or more races2.4% · 307
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 119
- Black or African American0.6% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ferrara
Ferrara 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
#2,635
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,669
+312 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 4.63
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#2,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,746
-923 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 4.26
Rank movement Down 117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,480 | 13,357 | 4.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,635 | 13,669 | 4.63 | +312 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #2,752 | 12,746 | 4.26 | -923 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 117 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 Ferrara 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 | #2,635 | #2,752 | -4.4% |
| Count | 13,669 | 12,746 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 4.63 | 4.26 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ferrara bearers went from 13,669 to 12,746 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 117 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,635 to #2,752.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ferrara
FAQ
Ferrara surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ferrara?
Name Census estimates that about 14,616 living Americans carry the surname Ferrara. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,451 residents.
How common is Ferrara?
Ferrara ranks #2,752 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,746 people with the surname Ferrara. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,616), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Ferrara.
Has Ferrara become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ferrara went from 13,669 recorded bearers to 12,746. That is a decrease of 923 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,635 to #2,752.
What does the Census say about the background of Ferrara?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ferrara, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Ferrara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (11,546 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ferrara appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (5.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Ferrara (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 Ferrara mean?
Italian locational surname referring to someone from the city of Ferrara in Northern Italy. 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 Ferrara (4.26 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 Ferrara?
See how many people have the last name Ferrara on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.