Find out how popular the last name Lapeña is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lapeña.

Lapeña, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lapeña surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lapeña in America

Lapeña is the 60960th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lapeña surname appeared 330 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lapeña.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lapeña to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lapeña

The surname Lapena originated from Spain during the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "lapeña" which means "the rock" or "the stone". This name likely referred to someone who lived near a prominent rocky area or cliff.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lapena surname dates back to 1286 in the town of Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. In a local census record, a man named Pedro Lapena was listed as a stonemason, further reinforcing the literal meaning of the name.

In the late 15th century, the Lapena name appears in various documents related to the Spanish Inquisition. A prominent figure, Juan Lapena, was a wealthy merchant from Seville who faced accusations of secretly practicing Judaism. He was eventually exonerated, but his case shed light on the challenges faced by conversos (converted Jews) during that period.

During the 16th century, the Lapena surname spread throughout Spain and its colonies. Notably, Diego Lapena was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés in the 1520s.

In the 17th century, a branch of the Lapena family settled in the Philippines, then a Spanish colony. One of their descendants, Mariano Lapena (1790-1868), became a renowned painter and is celebrated as one of the pioneers of Philippine art.

Another notable Lapena was María Lapena (1863-1937), a Spanish writer and feminist activist. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a significant role in the early feminist movement in Spain.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Lapena surname also found its way to the Americas. In the 19th century, José Lapena (1821-1895) was a Cuban military leader who fought against Spain during the Ten Years' War, a conflict that sought Cuban independence from Spanish rule.

Throughout its history, the Lapena surname has been associated with various professions, including stonemasons, merchants, artists, writers, and military leaders. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Spain, the name has since spread globally, carried by individuals of Spanish descent and their descendants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lapeña

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lapeña.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lapeña was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lapeña has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lapeña was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lapeña, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!