2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rapchak
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name related to the word "rapka" meaning a rake.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Rapchak. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rapchak 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Rapchak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapchak, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rapchak
The surname Rapchak originates from Poland, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "rapa," which means "turnip," or the occupation of a turnip farmer or seller. The name may have also evolved from a place name or geographic location associated with turnip cultivation.
In the early 1600s, the Rapchak name appeared in several parish records and tax rolls in the regions of Krakow and Poznan. Historical documents from this era often featured variations in spelling, such as Rapczak, Rapchack, and Rapczhak, due to the lack of standardized orthography at the time.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the Rapchak surname was Jan Rapchak, a landowner and farmer born in 1612 in the village of Gołuchów, near Kalisz. His name is recorded in the local church's baptismal register.
In the late 18th century, a Wojciech Rapchak served as a soldier in the Polish Army during the Kosciuszko Uprising against Russian imperial forces. He fought in the Battle of Racławice in 1794 and was later captured and imprisoned by the Russians.
During the 19th century, the Rapchak surname appeared in several historical documents from the Galicia region, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. One notable mention is of a Tomasz Rapchak, a prominent merchant and landowner from the city of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), born in 1822.
Another significant figure with the Rapchak surname was Józef Rapchak, a Polish writer and poet born in 1856 in the town of Tarnów. He was known for his works exploring themes of rural life and Polish identity.
In the early 20th century, a Maria Rapchak, born in 1902 in the village of Zakopane, gained recognition as a skilled artisan and woodcarver, preserving traditional Polish folk art and craftsmanship.
While the Rapchak name has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and migration patterns, particularly to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rapchak
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapchak, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rapchak 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 Rapchak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 98
- Two or more races9.6% · 11
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rapchak
Rapchak 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,953 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+9 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,012 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 15,953 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 8,012 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 Rapchak 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 | #153,769 | #145,757 | 5.2% |
| Count | 106 | 115 | 8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rapchak bearers went from 106 to 115 (+8.5% change). The surname moved up 8,012 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #145,757.
FAQ
Rapchak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rapchak?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Rapchak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Rapchak?
Rapchak ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Rapchak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Rapchak.
Has Rapchak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rapchak went from 106 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 9 (+8.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Rapchak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapchak, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Rapchak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rapchak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.2%), Two or More Races (9.6%), Black (2.6%). 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 Rapchak (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 Rapchak mean?
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name related to the word "rapka" meaning a rake. 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 Rapchak (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 many people share the surname Rapchak?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.