Explore the Family Name Pignatelli

The meaning of Pignatelli

Italian (southern): patronymic or plural form of Pignatello, from a diminutive of pignat(t)a ‘pot’, applied as a nickname for a potter, or for a rotund person. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Antonio, Federico, Gerardo, Angelo, Fabio, Luigi, Marina, Mario, Ricardo, Sante.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Pignatelli experienced a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Pignatelli was ranked 43,629 in popularity, with a count of 466 individuals carrying that last name. By 2010, its rank dropped to 45,740—a change of -4.84 percent—with a negligible increase in individual count to 467. The proportion of individuals with the surname Pignatelli per 100,000 fell by 5.88 percent during the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#43,629	#45,740	-4.84%
Count	466	467	0.21%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.16	-5.88%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pignatelli

In terms of ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority of people bearing the Pignatelli surname identified as White, although there was a minor decline from 96.57 percent in 2000 to 93.79 percent in 2010. There were no recorded instances of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native, or those identifying with two or more races carrying the Pignatelli surname in both years. However, there was a significant increase in the percentage of individuals who identified as Hispanic, jumping from 2.36 percent in 2000 to 5.14 percent in 2010—a change of 117.80 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.57%	93.79%	-2.88%
Hispanic	2.36%	5.14%	117.8%
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%