2000
#25,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 894
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.33
Rare Last name
Rota
A surname derived from the Latin word "rota," meaning a wheel or circle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,077 Americans carry the last name Rota. That puts it at #27,218 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 318,249 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rota 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.
Bearers in the US
1.1K
1 in 318,249
Census rank
#27,218
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
939
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 939 bearers of the surname Rota in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27218th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rota, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rota
The surname Rota has its origins in Italy, tracing back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "rota," which means "wheel." This term may have initially referred to someone who lived or worked near a mill or a workshop where wheels were used.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rota surname can be found in the historic documents of the city of Pisa, dating back to the late 1200s. During this period, the name appeared in various municipal records, indicating that it was already well-established in the region.
In the 14th century, the Rota surname began to spread beyond Pisa and the surrounding areas, appearing in documents from other parts of Tuscany and Northern Italy. This expansion likely coincided with the growth of trade and commerce during the Renaissance era.
One notable bearer of the Rota surname was Martino Rota, a renowned painter from the town of Sebenico (now Sibenik, Croatia), who lived between 1520 and 1583. His works, which included frescoes and altarpieces, can still be found in churches and galleries throughout Italy and Croatia.
Another prominent figure with the Rota surname was Giovanni Rota, an Italian mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1932 to 1999. He made significant contributions to the fields of combinatorics and probability theory, and his work laid the foundation for many modern developments in these areas.
In the 16th century, the Rota surname was also found in Spain, particularly in the region of Aragon. This suggests that individuals with this surname may have migrated from Italy to Spain during that time period, possibly due to trade or other economic opportunities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Rota surname in Spain dates back to 1567, when a man named Pedro Rota was mentioned in a legal document from the city of Zaragoza.
Another notable bearer of the Rota surname was Juan Bautista Rota, a Spanish painter who lived from 1624 to 1684. He was known for his religious paintings and worked extensively in churches and monasteries throughout Spain.
Throughout history, the Rota surname has also been associated with various place names, including the town of Rota in the Spanish province of Cádiz, and the Italian town of Rota d'Imagna, located in the province of Bergamo.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rota
Among Census respondents with the surname Rota, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rota 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 Rota surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 829
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 32
- Two or more races1.7% · 16
- Black or African American1.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rota
Rota 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
#26,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 908
+14 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 950 places
2020
#27,218
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 939
+31 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 423 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,845 | 894 | 0.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,795 | 908 | 0.31 | +14 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 950 places |
| 2020 | #27,218 | 939 | 0.31 | +31 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 423 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 Rota 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 | #26,795 | #27,218 | -1.6% |
| Count | 908 | 939 | 3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.31 | 0.31 | 1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rota bearers went from 908 to 939 (+3.4% change). The surname moved down 423 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,795 to #27,218.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rota
FAQ
Rota surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rota?
Name Census estimates that about 1,077 living Americans carry the surname Rota. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 318,249 residents.
How common is Rota?
Rota ranks #27,218 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 939 people with the surname Rota. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,077), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rota.
Has Rota become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rota went from 908 recorded bearers to 939. That is an increase of 31 (+3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #26,795 to #27,218.
What does the Census say about the background of Rota?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rota, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Rota in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (829 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rota appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (5.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Rota (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 Rota mean?
A surname derived from the Latin word "rota," meaning a wheel or circle. 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 Rota (0.31 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 Rota?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.