Explore the Family Name Tapio

The meaning of Tapio

Finnish: habitational name from farms so named, from Finnish tapio ‘wood; old pine’, originally probably ‘hunting ground’. In Finnish mythology, Tapio is the god of the forest and of hunting. Established as a hereditary surname since the 19th century chiefly in northern Finland. It was also adopted as an ornamental name in the early 20th century name-changing campaigns.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Tapio has seen a slight increase between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 65,862 in terms of prevalence, while in 2010, it moved up to 65,244, showing an approximate growth rate of 0.94 percent. The count of people with this surname rose from 281 in 2000 to 304 in 2010, marking an 8.19 percent increase. However, the proportion per 100,000 people remained relatively unchanged at 0.1.

20002010Change
Rank#65,862#65,2440.94%
Count2813048.19%
Proportion per 100k0.10.10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tapio

In regards to ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts in the ethnic identity of those carrying the Tapio surname. The proportion identifying as White slightly increased from 69.75 percent in 2000 to 70.39 percent in 2010, showing a marginal growth of 0.92 percent. Those identifying as Hispanic made up 16.01 percent of Tapios in 2000, but this decreased to 15.46 percent by 2010. Notably, the percentage of the Tapio population identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native experienced a significant decrease, dropping from 12.10 percent in 2000 to 8.88 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, there was a small emergence of individuals identifying as two or more races, accounting for 2.96 percent in 2010, while no such data was recorded in 2000. There were no reported Tapios identifying as either Asian/Pacific Islander or Black in either census year.

20002010Change
White69.75%70.39%0.92%
Hispanic16.01%15.46%-3.44%
American Indian and Alaskan Native12.1%8.88%-26.61%
Two or More Races0%2.96%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%