Explore the Family Name Apo

The meaning of Apo

Filipino: from apo, a kinship term in Tagalog and various other languages of the Philippines denoting the reciprocal relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild. It may also mean ‘master’ or ‘elder’.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Apo had a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Apo ranked as the 44,027th most common last name, but by 2010, it had slightly fallen to a rank of 45,959. This represents a decrease in rank of about 4.39%. However, the total count of individuals with this surname slightly increased from 461 in 2000 to 464 in 2010, showing a marginal growth rate of 0.65%. Nevertheless, the proportion of individuals named Apo per 100,000 people decreased from 0.17 to 0.16 between the two census years.

20002010Change
Rank#44,027#45,959-4.39%
Count4614640.65%
Proportion per 100k0.170.16-5.88%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Apo

Turning to ethnic identity, the greatest change for the Apo surname was seen among those who identify as having two or more races and those who are Asian/Pacific Islander, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. There was an 83.43% increase in the number of people with the Apo surname identifying as having two or more races, growing from 19.74% in 2000 to 36.21% in 2010. Conversely, there was a 32.4% decrease in individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, falling from 52.93% in 2000 to 35.78% in 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as White decreased by 19.18%, while those identifying as Hispanic increased by 41.93%. Lastly, the fraction of Black individuals remained steady, with only a minor decrease of 0.51%.

20002010Change
Two or More Races19.74%36.21%83.43%
Asian/Pacific Islander52.93%35.78%-32.4%
White16.27%13.15%-19.18%
Hispanic9.11%12.93%41.93%
Black1.95%1.94%-0.51%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%