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

Napper, 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 Napper surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Napper in America

Napper is the 11216th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Napper surname appeared 2,819 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Napper.

We can also compare 2010 data for Napper 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 Napper

The surname Napper is derived from an English occupational name for someone who was a maker or seller of rough woolen cloths called 'naps'. It originated in the 14th century from the Middle English word 'nap', which referred to the raised fibres on the surface of a fabric.

The name Napper is believed to have originated in the counties of Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire in southwest England, where the wool trade was particularly prominent during the medieval period. It is likely that the earliest bearers of this surname were involved in the production or sale of these rough woolen cloths, which were commonly used for clothing and other textiles.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Napper can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1327, where a William le Napper is listed. This suggests that the name had already become established as a hereditary surname by the early 14th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several entries for places with names derived from the Old English word 'næpp', which may have been related to the occupational term 'napper'. These include Nappingden in Northamptonshire and Nappingwelle in Lincolnshire, indicating that the occupation or trade had roots dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period.

Notable individuals with the surname Napper throughout history include:

1. Sir Robert Napper (c. 1545-1618), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset.
2. George Napper (c. 1550-1610), an English playwright and poet during the Elizabethan era.
3. Nathaniel Napper (1633-1704), an English nonconformist minister and writer who was ejected from his church during the Great Ejection of 1662.
4. Samuel Napper (c. 1680-1744), an English architect and builder who designed several churches and manor houses in the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire.
5. William Napper (1789-1859), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a prominent shipbuilder in the Royal Navy dockyards.

The surname Napper continues to be found throughout England, particularly in the southwestern counties, as well as in parts of the United States and other English-speaking countries where descendants of the original Napper families have migrated over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Napper

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

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

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

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