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

Napp, 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 Napp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Napp in America

Napp is the 38691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Napp surname appeared 571 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 Napp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Napp 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 Napp

The surname Napp is believed to have originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Nappe," which means a small container or vessel, suggesting that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked with such items.

One of the earliest known references to the Napp surname can be found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a certain Johannes Napp was documented as a citizen in 1572. Another early record comes from the town of Zittau in Saxony, where a man named Christoph Napp was mentioned in the local church register in 1598.

In the 17th century, the Napp surname began to appear in various regions of Germany, including Silesia, Brandenburg, and Bavaria. Some notable individuals from this period include Hans Napp, a merchant from Nuremberg who was born around 1620, and Johann Napp, a Lutheran pastor from Ansbach who lived from 1635 to 1701.

As the Napp family spread across Germany and beyond, variations in spelling emerged, such as Napp, Napper, and Nappe. In some cases, the name may have been influenced by local place names or dialects, leading to further variations.

One of the most famous individuals with the Napp surname was Johann Samuel Napp, a German composer and organist who lived from 1690 to 1753. He served as the organist at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig and was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Another notable figure was Friedrich Napp, a German-American engineer and inventor who was born in 1832 and later emigrated to the United States. He is credited with developing several important innovations in the field of textile machinery.

In the 19th century, the Napp surname continued to spread throughout Europe and beyond, with individuals bearing the name found in countries such as France, Austria, and Switzerland. One example is Johann Napp, a Swiss artist and engraver who was born in 1825 and is known for his landscape etchings.

As the centuries passed, the Napp surname became more widely distributed, with descendants bearing the name found in various parts of the world. However, its origins can be traced back to the German regions where it first emerged and gained prominence.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Napp

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

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 Napp 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 Napp 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 Napp was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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