Explore the Family Name Contessa

The meaning of Contessa

Italian: 1. from contessa ‘countess’, feminine form of Conte. 2. habitational name from Contessa Entellina in Palermo province, Sicily, which until 1875 was called simply Contessa. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Carmela, Gaspare, Rocco, Santo.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Contessa in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Contessa has seen a slight fluctuation in its popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked as the 57,090th most common surname in the United States. By 2010, it had dropped slightly to the 57,639th position, indicating a decrease in popularity by approximately 0.96%. Despite this minor drop in ranking, the actual count of people with the Contessa surname increased from 334 to 353 between 2000 and 2010, a growth rate of 5.69%. The proportion of the population with this surname per 100k remained consistent at 0.12.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#57,090	#57,639	-0.96%
Count	334	353	5.69%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.12	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Contessa

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that individuals with the Contessa surname are predominantly White. In 2000, about 94.91% of Contessas were White, and this number saw a slight increase to 95.47% by 2010. The data also indicates a small percentage of Contessas identifying as Hispanic, with a decrease in this group from 2.99% to 2.83% between 2000 and 2010. There were no recorded instances of this surname among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.91%	95.47%	0.59%
Hispanic	2.99%	2.83%	-5.35%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%