2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Arpa
Originally a Turkish toponymic surname denoting someone from Arpa, a village in Armenia.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Arpa. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arpa surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Arpa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arpa, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arpa
The surname ARPA has its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France. It is derived from the Basque word "arpa," meaning "cliff" or "rock." This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived near a cliff or rocky area.
The earliest recorded instances of the name ARPA date back to the late medieval period in the Basque Country. One of the earliest known references is found in a document from the 14th century, where a person named Juan de Arpa is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Durango, located in the province of Biscay.
In the 15th century, there are records of several individuals with the surname ARPA in various parts of the Basque region. One notable example is Pedro de Arpa, a merchant from San Sebastián, who was involved in trade with other European cities during the 1460s.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the ARPA surname can be found in various historical records and documents from the Basque Country. One prominent figure was Domingo de Arpa, a priest and scholar who lived in the late 16th century and wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
In the 18th century, the ARPA surname spread beyond the Basque region, with some individuals migrating to other parts of Spain and even to Spanish colonies in the Americas. One such individual was Juan Bautista de Arpa, a soldier who served in the Spanish army during the Seven Years' War and later settled in Cuba.
Another notable figure from this period was Ignacio de Arpa, a Basque architect who worked on several projects in Madrid and other Spanish cities in the late 18th century. He was known for his innovative designs and contributions to the development of neoclassical architecture in Spain.
As the centuries progressed, the ARPA surname continued to be found across various parts of Spain and Spanish-speaking regions, although it remained particularly concentrated in the Basque Country. Some other historical figures with this surname include Miguel de Arpa, a successful businessman and landowner in the 19th century, and Juana de Arpa, a writer and poet who published several works in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arpa
Among Census respondents with the surname Arpa, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Arpa bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Arpa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.2% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander35.5% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 7
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arpa
Arpa appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+15 bearers (+14.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,460 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.2%) | Up 12,460 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Arpa surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #153,769 | #141,309 | 8.1% |
| Count | 106 | 121 | 14.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arpa bearers went from 106 to 121 (+14.2% change). The surname moved up 12,460 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #141,309.
FAQ
Arpa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arpa?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Arpa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Arpa?
Arpa ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Arpa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Arpa.
Has Arpa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arpa went from 106 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 15 (+14.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Arpa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arpa, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%) and Hispanic (5.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Arpa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.2% (68 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arpa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (35.5%), Hispanic (5.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Arpa (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Arpa mean?
Originally a Turkish toponymic surname denoting someone from Arpa, a village in Armenia. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Arpa (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Arpa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.