2000
#3,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,311
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.08
Rare Last name
Piazza
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a town square or market.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,287 Americans carry the last name Piazza. That puts it at #4,229 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,907 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piazza 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 Piazza with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.3K
1 in 36,907
Census rank
#4,229
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,099 bearers of the surname Piazza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4229th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piazza, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piazza
The surname Piazza is of Italian origin, derived from the Italian word "piazza" meaning "town square" or "public open space." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, likely as a locational surname given to individuals who lived near or worked in a town square or marketplace.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Piazza can be found in historical records from the 13th century in the city of Florence, Italy. These records mention individuals with the surname Piazza residing in the city during this time period.
In the 14th century, the surname Piazza appeared in various manuscripts and documents from the Italian city-states, such as Venice and Genoa. It is possible that the name was initially associated with merchants or tradespeople who conducted business in the town squares or marketplaces.
The Piazza surname has been found in various historical records throughout Italy, such as tax rolls, census records, and legal documents. Some notable individuals with the surname Piazza include:
1. Calisto Piazza (1548-1620), an Italian painter and architect active in the late Renaissance period.
2. Giovanni Battista Piazza (1647-1708), an Italian mathematician and astronomer known for his contributions to the field of calculus.
3. Antonio Piazza (1742-1823), an Italian composer and violinist who worked in the Baroque and Classical periods.
4. Vittorio Emanuele Piazza (1826-1888), an Italian politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Education and later as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
5. Francesco Piazza (1870-1938), an Italian artist and sculptor known for his works depicting scenes from Roman life and mythology.
The surname Piazza is also associated with several place names in Italy, such as Piazza Armerina, a town in the province of Enna, Sicily, and Piazza al Serchio, a municipality in the province of Lucca, Tuscany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piazza
Among Census respondents with the surname Piazza, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Piazza 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 Piazza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 7,274
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 495
- Two or more races2.3% · 187
- Black or African American0.9% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piazza
Piazza 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
#4,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,372
+61 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 2.84
Rank movement Down 304 places
2020
#4,229
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,099
-273 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 2.71
Rank movement Up 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,928 | 8,311 | 3.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,232 | 8,372 | 2.84 | +61 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 304 places |
| 2020 | #4,229 | 8,099 | 2.71 | -273 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 3 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 Piazza 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 | #4,232 | #4,229 | 0.1% |
| Count | 8,372 | 8,099 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.84 | 2.71 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piazza bearers went from 8,372 to 8,099 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,232 to #4,229.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Piazza
FAQ
Piazza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piazza?
Name Census estimates that about 9,287 living Americans carry the surname Piazza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,907 residents.
How common is Piazza?
Piazza ranks #4,229 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,099 people with the surname Piazza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,287), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Piazza.
Has Piazza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piazza went from 8,372 recorded bearers to 8,099. That is a decrease of 273 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,232 to #4,229.
What does the Census say about the background of Piazza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piazza, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Piazza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (7,274 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piazza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (6.1%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Piazza (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 Piazza mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a town square or market. 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 Piazza (2.71 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 common is the surname Piazza?
See how many people are called Piazza on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.