2000
#5,021
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,412
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.38
Rare Last name
Pape
Derived from the Middle English word "pope," referring to a clergyman or someone who worked in the pope's service.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,962 Americans carry the last name Pape. That puts it at #5,539 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,232 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pape 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pape with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.0K
1 in 49,232
Census rank
#5,539
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,071 bearers of the surname Pape in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5539th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pape, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pape
The surname Pape has its origins in medieval Germany, specifically in the northern regions. It is derived from the Middle Low German word "pape," which means "priest" or "cleric." This suggests that the name was originally an occupational surname given to individuals who served as priests or clerics in the Catholic Church.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pape surname dates back to the 13th century, where it appears in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen. The name is also found in other medieval records from various regions of northern Germany, such as the Lübecker Oberstadtbuch from the 14th century.
The Pape surname has connections to several place names, particularly in areas where the name was prevalent. For instance, the village of Papenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany, is believed to have derived its name from individuals with the Pape surname who lived there or were associated with the area.
Notable historical figures with the Pape surname include Johann Pape (1506-1570), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Reformation movement. Another notable bearer of the name was Christoph Friedrich Pape (1788-1862), a German classical scholar and lexicographer known for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature.
In the 16th century, the Pape surname also appeared in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. This suggests that individuals with the Pape surname were involved in trade and commerce during that period.
Other notable figures with the Pape surname include Johann Ernst Pape (1776-1853), a German philologist and educator who wrote extensively on ancient Greek literature, and Wilhelm Pape (1807-1854), a German classical scholar and author of the influential "Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache" (Handbook of the Greek Language).
Throughout its history, the Pape surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Papen, Pappen, and Pape, reflecting regional linguistic differences and the evolution of the German language over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pape
Among Census respondents with the surname Pape, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Pape 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 Pape surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 5,636
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 203
- Two or more races2.2% · 131
- Black or African American0.8% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pape
Pape 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
#5,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,350
-62 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 2.15
Rank movement Down 456 places
2020
#5,539
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,071
-279 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 2.03
Rank movement Down 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,021 | 6,412 | 2.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,477 | 6,350 | 2.15 | -62 bearers (-1.0%) | Down 456 places |
| 2020 | #5,539 | 6,071 | 2.03 | -279 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 62 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 Pape 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 | #5,477 | #5,539 | -1.1% |
| Count | 6,350 | 6,071 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.15 | 2.03 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pape bearers went from 6,350 to 6,071 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,477 to #5,539.
FAQ
Pape surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pape?
Name Census estimates that about 6,962 living Americans carry the surname Pape. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,232 residents.
How common is Pape?
Pape ranks #5,539 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,071 people with the surname Pape. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,962), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Pape.
Has Pape become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pape went from 6,350 recorded bearers to 6,071. That is a decrease of 279 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,477 to #5,539.
What does the Census say about the background of Pape?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pape, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Pape in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (5,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pape appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Pape (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 Pape mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "pope," referring to a clergyman or someone who worked in the pope's service. 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 Pape (2.03 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 Americans have the surname Pape?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.