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

Rapoza, 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 Rapoza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rapoza in America

Rapoza is the 15386th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rapoza surname appeared 1,906 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 Rapoza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rapoza 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 Rapoza

The surname Rapoza is of Portuguese origin, and it is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century. It is thought to have originated from the region of Algarve in southern Portugal, where it was likely derived from the Portuguese word "raposa," meaning "fox."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rapoza can be found in the 16th-century Portuguese census records, where it was often spelled as "Rapousa" or "Rapoza." This variation in spelling was common during that time period, as standardized spelling conventions were not yet established.

The name Rapoza may have been initially given as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who possessed fox-like qualities or lived in an area associated with foxes. In some cases, surnames of this nature were also given as nicknames based on physical characteristics or personality traits.

In the 17th century, the name Rapoza began to appear in various Portuguese historical documents, including birth and marriage records. One notable figure from this era was João Rapoza, a Portuguese explorer born in 1624, who was involved in the early colonization efforts in Brazil.

As the Portuguese empire expanded, the name Rapoza traveled to other parts of the world, including the Azores Islands and Brazil. In the 18th century, Manuel Rapoza, born in 1732 in the Azores, became a prominent farmer and landowner on the island of São Miguel.

Another noteworthy individual with the surname Rapoza was Antônio Rapoza, a Brazilian military officer born in 1789, who played a significant role in the Brazilian War of Independence against Portugal in the early 19th century.

During the 19th century, the name Rapoza also found its way to the United States, particularly in areas with significant Portuguese immigration, such as New England and California. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the United States was José Rapoza, born in 1832 in Massachusetts, who worked as a fisherman and later became a successful businessman.

In the 20th century, the name Rapoza continued to be carried by individuals of Portuguese descent, including the American writer and journalist John Rapoza, born in 1949, who wrote extensively about Portuguese-American culture and history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rapoza

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

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

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

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