2000
#797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,402
First available Census row
Per 100,000 14.61
Uncommon Last name
Villa
An occupational surname referring to someone who worked or lived in a country house or villa.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 58,269 Americans carry the last name Villa. That puts it at #653 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,882 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Villa 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 Villa with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
58K
1 in 5,882
Census rank
#653
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
51K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 50,813 bearers of the surname Villa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 653rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Villa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Villa
The surname Villa originated in Spain and Italy, deriving from the Latin word 'villa', meaning a country house or farm estate. It arose as a locational surname, given to those residing near or employed at a villa or country estate.
In Spain, the name Villa likely emerged during the Middle Ages, as surnames became hereditary. Many Spaniards adopted toponymic surnames, referring to places of residence or origins. The Villa surname may have indicated a family living on or working at a villa estate.
In Italy, the name Villa also has medieval origins, tracing back to the 11th or 12th centuries. It was particularly common in northern regions like Lombardy and Veneto, where large agricultural estates and rural villas were prevalent. Archival records from the 13th century mention individuals with the surname Villa residing in cities like Milan and Venice.
One of the earliest known references to the Villa surname is found in the Domesday Book, a survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry records a landowner named Radulfus de Villa, indicating the use of the surname in Norman-controlled areas of England at the time.
Notable individuals with the surname Villa include:
Pedro de la Villa (c. 1385-1438), a Spanish poet and courtier during the reign of King John II of Castile.
Antonio Villa (1456-1529), an Italian humanist scholar and professor of rhetoric at the University of Bologna.
Claudio Villa (1629-1687), an Italian painter of the Baroque period, known for his religious works in churches throughout Rome.
Francisco Villa (1878-1923), a renowned Mexican revolutionary leader during the Mexican Revolution, also known as Pancho Villa.
Margherita Villa (1914-2016), an Italian centenarian who briefly held the record for the oldest living person in the world in 2016.
The surname Villa has a rich history, spanning centuries and encompassing various regions of Europe and the Americas. Its origins as a locational name reflect the agricultural and rural roots of many families who bore this surname throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Villa
Among Census respondents with the surname Villa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Villa 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 Villa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.9% · 44,646
- White8.3% · 4,209
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 1,227
- Two or more races0.6% · 318
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 223
- Black or African American0.4% · 190
Timeline
Historical Census data for Villa
Villa 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
#644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,817
+13,415 bearers (+34.0%)
Per 100,000 17.91
Rank movement Up 153 places
2020
#653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,813
-2,004 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 17.00
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #797 | 39,402 | 14.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #644 | 52,817 | 17.91 | +13,415 bearers (+34.0%) | Up 153 places |
| 2020 | #653 | 50,813 | 17.00 | -2,004 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 9 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 Villa 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 | #644 | #653 | -1.4% |
| Count | 52,817 | 50,813 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 17.91 | 17.00 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Villa bearers went from 52,817 to 50,813 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #644 to #653.
FAQ
Villa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Villa?
Name Census estimates that about 58,269 living Americans carry the surname Villa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,882 residents.
How common is Villa?
Villa ranks #653 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 50,813 people with the surname Villa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (58,269), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Villa.
Has Villa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Villa went from 52,817 recorded bearers to 50,813. That is a decrease of 2,004 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #644 to #653.
What does the Census say about the background of Villa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Villa, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Villa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (44,646 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Villa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.9%), White (8.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Villa (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 Villa mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who worked or lived in a country house or villa. 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 Villa (17.00 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 Americans have the surname Villa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.