2000
#14,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,924
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Rapoza
A surname derived from the Portuguese word "raposa," meaning fox.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,061 Americans carry the last name Rapoza. That puts it at #15,648 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,305 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rapoza 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
2.1K
1 in 166,305
Census rank
#15,648
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,797 bearers of the surname Rapoza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15648th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapoza, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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In the 17th century, the name Rapoza began to appear in various Portuguese historical documents, including birth and marriage records.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rapoza
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapoza, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rapoza 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 Rapoza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 1,308
- Two or more races12.4% · 223
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.8% · 122
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 120
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 16
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rapoza
Rapoza 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
#15,386
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,906
-18 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,103 places
2020
#15,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,797
-109 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,283 | 1,924 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,386 | 1,906 | 0.65 | -18 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,103 places |
| 2020 | #15,648 | 1,797 | 0.60 | -109 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 262 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 Rapoza 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 | #15,386 | #15,648 | -1.7% |
| Count | 1,906 | 1,797 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.65 | 0.60 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rapoza bearers went from 1,906 to 1,797 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 262 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,386 to #15,648.
FAQ
Rapoza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rapoza?
Name Census estimates that about 2,061 living Americans carry the surname Rapoza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,305 residents.
How common is Rapoza?
Rapoza ranks #15,648 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,797 people with the surname Rapoza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,061), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Rapoza.
Has Rapoza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rapoza went from 1,906 recorded bearers to 1,797. That is a decrease of 109 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,386 to #15,648.
What does the Census say about the background of Rapoza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rapoza, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%). 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 Rapoza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (1,308 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rapoza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.8%), Two or More Races (12.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%). 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 Rapoza (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 Rapoza mean?
A surname derived from the Portuguese word "raposa," meaning fox. 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 Rapoza (0.60 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 Rapoza?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Rapoza on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.