2000
#28,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Rare Last name
Rapaport
A surname originating from French meaning one from the village of Rapaport.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,140 Americans carry the last name Rapaport. That puts it at #25,932 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 300,662 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rapaport 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
1.1K
1 in 300,662
Census rank
#25,932
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
994
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 994 bearers of the surname Rapaport in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 25932nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapaport, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rapaport
The surname RAPAPORT is of Jewish origin, derived from the Hebrew word "רפפורט" (Rapaport or Rappaport), which means "from the town of Rapperswil" in Switzerland. The name can be traced back to the 16th century, when Jews from Germany and Eastern Europe began migrating to Switzerland and other parts of Western Europe.
The earliest recorded instance of the name RAPAPORT can be found in the records of the Jewish community in Frankfurt, Germany, dating back to the late 16th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Rabbi Moshe ben Yitzchak Rapaport, who lived in Frankfurt in the early 17th century and was a renowned Talmudic scholar.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the RAPAPORT name spread throughout Europe, with many families settling in Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. During this time, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Rappoport, Raporport, and Rappaport. One notable individual from this period was Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Rapaport (1670-1741), a prominent Talmudic scholar and author from Poland.
As the Jewish diaspora continued, the RAPAPORT surname made its way to other parts of the world, including the United States and Israel. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous RAPAPORT families immigrated to the United States, seeking better opportunities and fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe. One famous American with this surname was Samuel Rappaport (1912-2005), a prominent architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Philadelphia.
Another notable individual with the RAPAPORT surname was Anatoli Rapaport (1911-2007), a Russian-born American mathematician and systems theorist who made significant contributions to the fields of cybernetics and game theory. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and later emigrated to the United States, where he had a distinguished academic career.
In the 20th century, the RAPAPORT name also became associated with the diamond industry, particularly in Antwerp, Belgium, which is a major hub for diamond trading and cutting. One of the most well-known figures in this industry was Martin Rapaport (born 1952), a diamond merchant and publisher who created the Rapaport Diamond Report, which became an important pricing benchmark for the global diamond market.
While the surname RAPAPORT has its roots in Europe, it has now spread across the globe, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, including religion, academia, architecture, and business.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rapaport
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapaport, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rapaport 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 Rapaport surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 878
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 17
- Two or more races1.5% · 15
- Black or African American0.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rapaport
Rapaport 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
#27,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 894
+93 bearers (+11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.30
Rank movement Up 1,061 places
2020
#25,932
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 994
+100 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.33
Rank movement Up 1,149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,142 | 801 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,081 | 894 | 0.30 | +93 bearers (+11.6%) | Up 1,061 places |
| 2020 | #25,932 | 994 | 0.33 | +100 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 1,149 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 Rapaport 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 | #27,081 | #25,932 | 4.2% |
| Count | 894 | 994 | 11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.30 | 0.33 | 10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rapaport bearers went from 894 to 994 (+11.2% change). The surname moved up 1,149 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,081 to #25,932.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rapaport
FAQ
Rapaport surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rapaport?
Name Census estimates that about 1,140 living Americans carry the surname Rapaport. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 300,662 residents.
How common is Rapaport?
Rapaport ranks #25,932 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.33 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 994 people with the surname Rapaport. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,140), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.33 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 Rapaport.
Has Rapaport become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rapaport went from 894 recorded bearers to 994. That is an increase of 100 (+11.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #27,081 to #25,932.
What does the Census say about the background of Rapaport?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapaport, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rapaport in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (878 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rapaport appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (7.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rapaport (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 Rapaport mean?
A surname originating from French meaning one from the village of Rapaport. 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 Rapaport (0.33 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 people are called Rapaport?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Rapaport at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.