2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Napue
A surname derived from the Greek "napoios," meaning a gardener or farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Napue. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Napue 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Napue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Napue, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.6%) and White (10.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Napue
The surname NAPUE is of Scandinavian origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient Norse and Viking settlements of the 9th and 10th centuries. It is believed to have originated in the coastal regions of modern-day Norway and Sweden, where the name was initially derived from the Old Norse word "napu," meaning "valley" or "hollow."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland by Norse Vikings. The text mentions a warrior named Napue Thorvaldsson, who is said to have established a homestead in the lush valley of Fljótshlíð around the year 900 AD.
In the centuries that followed, the name NAPUE spread across Scandinavia and eventually to other parts of Europe. It is documented in several historical records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which chronicles landholders in England following the Norman Conquest. The entry "Napue de Riston" suggests the presence of a NAPUE family in the village of Riston, East Yorkshire.
Notable individuals bearing the surname NAPUE throughout history include Sigurd Napue (c. 1170-1234), a Norwegian chieftain and member of the powerful Birchlegs clan, who played a pivotal role in the Norwegian Civil War. Another prominent figure was Inga Napue (1502-1578), a Swedish noblewoman and landowner known for her philanthropic efforts in establishing schools and hospitals in the region of Västergötland.
In the 16th century, a branch of the NAPUE family migrated to the Scottish Highlands, where they adopted the Gaelic spelling "NaPùidh." One of their descendants, Angus NaPùidh (1625-1691), became a renowned bard and poet, renowned for his lyrical compositions celebrating the natural beauty of the Highland glens and lochs.
Across the Atlantic, the first recorded instance of the NAPUE name in the Americas dates back to the early 17th century, when a Norwegian sailor named Leif Napue (1598-1672) settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, present-day New York. His descendants went on to establish a prominent mercantile family in the region.
Throughout its long history, the surname NAPUE has maintained a strong connection to its Scandinavian roots, evoking images of the rugged valleys and fjords that once served as the cradle for this ancient lineage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Napue
Among Census respondents with the surname Napue, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.6%) and White (10.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Napue 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 Napue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.6% · 77
- Two or more races15.6% · 17
- White10.1% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Napue
Napue appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+20 bearers (+19.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,024 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-12 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,901 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +20 bearers (+19.8%) | Up 11,024 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 11,901 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 Napue 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 | #138,304 | #150,205 | -8.6% |
| Count | 121 | 109 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Napue bearers went from 121 to 109 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 11,901 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #150,205.
FAQ
Napue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Napue?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Napue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Napue?
Napue ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Napue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Napue.
Has Napue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Napue went from 121 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Napue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Napue, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.6%) and White (10.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Napue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (77 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Napue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (70.6%), Two or More Races (15.6%), White (10.1%). 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 Napue (2000, 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 Napue mean?
A surname derived from the Greek "napoios," meaning a gardener or farmer. 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 Napue (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 common is the surname Napue?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Napue on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.