Explore the Family Name Matera

The meaning of Matera

Italian: habitational name from Matera in Basilicata region. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Angelo, Rocco, Pasquale, Domenic, Lia, Salvatore, Alessio, Amerigo, Biagio, Canio, Domenico, Enrico.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Matera has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 19,734th most common surname and held a count of 1,263 people. By 2010, it had fallen to the 21,237th rank with a count of 1,235; this represents a drop of 7.62% in its ranking and a 2.22% decrease in the total count. The proportion of people per 100k for this surname also decreased by 10.64% over this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#19,734	#21,237	-7.62%
Count	1,263	1,235	-2.22%
Proportion per 100k	0.47	0.42	-10.64%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Matera

In regards to ethnicity, individuals bearing the surname Matera were predominantly of White ethnic identity, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, 94.85% of individuals identified as White, which slightly increased to 95.79% in 2010. A small percentage identified as Hispanic, with a decrease from 3.64% in 2000 to 3.16% in 2010. There was an appearance of Black ethnic identity in 2010 at 0.40%, which was not present in the 2000 census. The proportions of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native remained stable at 0% for both years. The percentage of those who identify as two or more races saw a significant decrease from 1.19% in 2000 to 0.49% in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.85%	95.79%	0.99%
Hispanic	3.64%	3.16%	-13.19%
Two or More Races	1.19%	0.49%	-58.82%
Black	0%	0.4%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%