Explore the Family Name Rappa

The meaning of Rappa

Italian (Sicily): from Sicilian rappa ‘bunch, cluster’, Neapolitan rappa ‘wrinkle’, or Italian rappa ‘lock, quiff’, presumably applied as a nickname. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Salvatore, Sal, Angelo, Antonio, Benedetto, Giovanni, Antonino, Carlo, Domenico, Emanuele, Franco, Giuseppe.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Rappa has experienced slight fluctuations over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 19,526 with a count of 1,279 (0.47 per 100k). However, by 2010, although the number of individuals bearing the name had increased slightly to 1,296 (0.44 per 100k), its rank dipped to 20,480 marking a decrease of 4.89% in popularity.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#19,526	#20,480	-4.89%
Count	1,279	1,296	1.33%
Proportion per 100k	0.47	0.44	-6.38%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Rappa

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals with the Rappa surname identify as White, accounting for 95.15% in 2000 and 93.83% in 2010. This indicates a marginal decline of 1.39%. The data also shows an increase in those identifying as Hispanic from 2.74% in 2000 to 4.63% in 2010, a significant increase of 68.98%. Those identifying as having two or more ethnic identities reduced from 1.56% to 0.54%, a decrease of 65.38%. Interestingly, 0.77% identified as Asian/Pacific Islander in 2010, where there were none reported in 2000. There were no individuals who identified as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.15%	93.83%	-1.39%
Hispanic	2.74%	4.63%	68.98%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.77%	0%
Two or More Races	1.56%	0.54%	-65.38%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%