Explore the Family Name Tappin

The meaning of Tappin

English: 1. variant of Topping. 2. from the Middle English personal name Tapping, from Old English Tæpping, a pet form of the Tæppa seen in placenames like Taplow. See also Tapp. History: Joseph Tapping (died 1678) is buried in King’s Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, MA.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Tappin experienced a decline in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 37,429 but dropped to 42,094 by 2010, indicating a fall of approximately 12.46%. The count of individuals with the Tappin surname also saw a decrease from 560 to 516, reflecting a 7.86% reduction over the decade. Consequently, the proportion of people named Tappin per 100,000 people across the U.S. decreased by 19.05%, from 0.21 to 0.17.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#37,429	#42,094	-12.46%
Count	560	516	-7.86%
Proportion per 100k	0.21	0.17	-19.05%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tappin

The data from the Decennial U.S. Census also offers insights into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Tappin. Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of Tappins identifying as Black increased slightly, from 55.36% to 56.78%. Those reporting as White decreased from 38.21% to 34.11%, while those identifying as Hispanic experienced an increase, going from 4.11% to 4.84%. Interestingly, the number of Tappins reporting two or more races saw significant growth, jumping from 2.14% to 3.49%. No Tappins identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native during these years.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	55.36%	56.78%	2.57%
White	38.21%	34.11%	-10.73%
Hispanic	4.11%	4.84%	17.76%
Two or More Races	2.14%	3.49%	63.08%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%