Explore the Family Name Messana

The meaning of Messana

Italian (southern): habitational name from the Sicilian city of Messina (see Messina), the former name of which was Messana. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Rocco, Sal, Salvatore, Angelo, Mariano, Gioacchino, Giuseppe, Luigi, Mario, Nicolo, Paolo, Pasquale, Rosario, Silvio.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Messana has experienced a slight decline in the United States over the past decade. In 2000, it ranked as the 39,304th most common surname, but by 2010, it had slipped to 43,438th. The number of people with this last name also fell slightly from 527 in 2000 to 497 in 2010, a decrease of about 5.69%. Likewise, the proportion of individuals named Messana per 100,000 people decreased by 15%, from 0.2 in 2000 to 0.17 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#39,304	#43,438	-10.52%
Count	527	497	-5.69%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.17	-15%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Messana

In terms of ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that the majority of people with the surname Messana identified as White, though there was a small decline from 97.91% in 2000 to 93.36% in 2010. On the other hand, the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic increased significantly from 1.52% in 2000 to 4.83% in 2010, a change of 217.76%. Notably, in 2010, 1.41% of individuals with the Messana surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, a group that wasn't represented in the 2000 data. There were no recorded instances of individuals named Messana identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.91%	93.36%	-4.65%
Hispanic	1.52%	4.83%	217.76%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.41%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%