Scala surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Scala surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,537 people carried this name — #9,212 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 83,300 people counted. That is up 8% from 3,261 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Scala surname

From the noun scala (“ladder”). Most prevalent in Campania and Liguria.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Scala» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 743 people named Scala live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 301
City of Buenos Aires 143
Santa Fe 105
Mendoza 78
Córdoba 48
Corrientes 30
San Juan 16
Chaco 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 374 people named Scala.

132 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 29 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 132
Bouches-du-Rhône 41
Seine-Saint-Denis 30
Paris 29
Rhône 29
Corsica 21
Var 15
Pas-de-Calais 9
Alpes-Maritimes 9

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

123 people named Scala live in Switzerland.

They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Ticino.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Ticino 23
Zurich 21
Vaud 20
Bern 10
Geneva 9
Fribourg 9
Basel-Landschaft 8
St. Gallen 7

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In print

Scala in American newspapers,
1898–1901.

Newspaper page from The Weekly Corinthian carrying the name Scala
The Weekly Corinthian 1901-12-04
Newspaper page from St. Tammany Farmer carrying the name Scala
St. Tammany Farmer 1901-12-28
Newspaper page from Foster's Daily Democrat carrying the name Scala
Foster's Daily Democrat 1898-11-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 25,864 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Scala,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Pace Scala
    Pace Scala d. 1604 · jurist
  • Bartolomeo Scala
    Bartolomeo Scala 1430–1497 · politician
  • Bartolomeo Scala d. 1652 · historian
  • Autilia Scala d. 1515
  • Alessandra Scala 1475–1506 · writer
  • Flaminio Scala 1552–1624 · actor

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Scala.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Scala is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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