Explore the Family Name Rapa

The meaning of Rapa

1. Italian: from rapa ‘turnip’, used as a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of turnips, or as an unflattering nickname for a stupid person. 2. Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from any of the towns called Rapa, in Portugal and in A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). Some characteristic forenames: Italian Renato, Americo, Angelo, Giuseppe, Margarita, Petrina.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Rapa has seen a slight decrease in rank between 2000 and 2010, sliding from 57,849 to 58,042, representing a drop off of 0.33%. However, there was a small increase in the count of people bearing this surname, which grew from 329 in 2000 to 350 in 2010, marking an upswing of 6.38%. The proportion per 100k people remained consistent at 0.12 throughout these years.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#57,849	#58,042	-0.33%
Count	329	350	6.38%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.12	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rapa

Turning to the ethnicity associated with the surname Rapa, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some shifts over the decade. In 2000, the majority of individuals with this surname identified as White (94.22%), with a small percentage identifying as Hispanic (3.04%). By 2010, although the majority still identified as White, the percentage had decreased to 89.71%, while the Hispanic representation had more than doubled to 7.14%. Additionally, a small proportion began identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (2.29%) by 2010, a category not represented in 2000. There were no changes in the categories of two or more races, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.22%	89.71%	-4.79%
Hispanic	3.04%	7.14%	134.87%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	2.29%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%