Explore the Family Name Tapia

The meaning of Tapia

1. Galician, Asturian-Leonese, and Spanish: habitational name from any of the places in Galicia, Asturias, and Burgos so named with tapia ‘mud wall’. 2. Jewish (Sephardic): adoption of the Iberian surname (see 1 above) at the moment of conversion to Roman Catholicism. After the return to Judaism (generations later), some descendants retained the name their families used as Catholics. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Juan, Jorge, Manuel, Carlos, Miguel, Francisco, Jesus, Luis, Mario, Ramon, Ruben.

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

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

The surname Tapia has seen an increase in popularity according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, it was ranked as the 845th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had jumped up to the 647th position, a change of 23.43%. The number of people with the surname Tapia also increased significantly from 37,201 in 2000 to 52,651 in 2010, making a growth of 41.53%. Moreover, the proportion of the population with this surname per 100k individuals rose by 29.44% over the same period.

20002010Change
Rank#845#64723.43%
Count37,20152,65141.53%
Proportion per 100k13.7917.8529.44%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tapia

Diving into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Tapia, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that most individuals identify as Hispanic – 92.87% in 2000 and 93.54% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of individuals identifying as White decreased slightly from 5.19% in 2000 to 4.85% in 2010. The proportion of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander saw a modest increase from 0.66% to 0.71%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native category experienced a decrease from 0.53% to 0.40%. The percentage of those identifying with two or more races dropped substantially from 0.47% to 0.22%. The percentage of Black individuals remained steady at 0.29% both in 2000 and 2010.

20002010Change
Hispanic92.87%93.54%0.72%
White5.19%4.85%-6.55%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.66%0.71%7.58%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.53%0.4%-24.53%
Black0.29%0.29%0%
Two or More Races0.47%0.22%-53.19%

Tapia ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Tapia is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 35.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (34.0%) and British & Irish (10.1%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Italian, Senegambian & Guinean, Scandinavian, and Filipino & Austronesian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese35.9%
Indigenous American34.0%
British & Irish10.1%
Other20.0%
Tapia

Possible origins of the surname Tapia

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Tapia have recent ancestry locations all within Mexico.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Guanajuato, Mexico69.50%
San Luis Potosi, Mexico69.50%
Michoacan, Mexico69.50%
Aguascalientes, Mexico69.50%
Nayarit, Mexico69.50%

What Tapia haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Tapia is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include Q-M3 and R-M167, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Gutierrez, Herrera, Escobar, Garcia, Morales, Ayala, Gomez, Ruiz, Lopez, Sanchez.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Tapia surname are: A2, H, B2. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

tapiaPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to some of the first Americans

Though the Ice Age was beginning to retreat when your A2 ancestors first entered North America, there were still massive barriers blocking their way. Glaciers and inhospitable climate covered much of the continent, blocking entry into the interior. Nonetheless, researchers have found evidence that a wave of American founders migrated over 13,000 kilometers to reach southern Chile in only 2,000 years, a blink of an eye in the story of human migration! Their highway to the south was the coast of the Pacific, stocked with fish, diverse marine mammals, and other valuable resources in the rich kelp forests of the upper latitudes and in the abundant fresh-water rivers near the equator. Because of this rapid movement south, the A2 haplogroup and its diverse branches are found throughout North and South America.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Tapia have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Tapia

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Tapia" Surname 28.6%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Tapia

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Tapia" Surname 38.7%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Tapia

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Tapia" Surname 18.7%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Tapia

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Tapia" Surname 14.4%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Tapia?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Tapia are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Spanish & Portuguese 56.3%

23andMe Users 57.2%