2000
#10,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,804
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Rappaport
A Jewish surname derived from the German city of Rapperswil, meaning "raven's port" or "crow's port."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,891 Americans carry the last name Rappaport. That puts it at #11,875 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,559 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rappaport 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
2.9K
1 in 118,559
Census rank
#11,875
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,521 bearers of the surname Rappaport in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11875th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rappaport, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rappaport
The surname Rappaport originated in the Rhineland region of Germany in the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "Rappe" meaning "crow" and "port" meaning "gate" or "entrance." Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived near a gate or entrance associated with a crow symbol or crest.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in tax records and municipal rolls from cities like Cologne and Frankfurt in the 14th and 15th centuries. Variations in spelling included Rappaporte, Rappeport, and Rappenpfort. A Johann Rappaport is mentioned in a 1421 document from Mainz as a craftsman.
As Jewish communities became established in the Rhineland, some families adopted the surname Rappaport. One of the earliest known Jewish individuals with this name was Rabbi Yaakov Rappaport, a renowned Talmudic scholar born in 1537 in Bamberg. His writings and teachings were highly influential in Jewish intellectual circles.
Another notable figure was Moses Rappaport (1612-1670), a Jewish printer and publisher in Prague who produced important Hebrew texts and theological works. His printing press helped disseminate Jewish literature during a pivotal period.
In the 18th century, the name spread more widely as families migrated across Europe. Chaim Rappaport (1728-1811), a banker and philanthropist from Galicia (now Poland), played a key role in supporting Jewish education and welfare initiatives.
Sara Rappaport (1837-1911), born in Bessarabia (now Moldova), was an influential educator who established schools for Jewish girls in Russia, defying social conventions of her era.
As the surname crossed into the English-speaking world, variants like Rappoport and Rapoport also emerged. One bearer was Samuel Rappoport (1895-1971), an American lawyer who represented the prosecution at the Nuremberg trials after World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rappaport
Among Census respondents with the surname Rappaport, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rappaport 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 Rappaport surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 2,376
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 71
- Two or more races1.9% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rappaport
Rappaport 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
#11,146
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,841
+37 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 635 places
2020
#11,875
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,521
-320 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 729 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,511 | 2,804 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,146 | 2,841 | 0.96 | +37 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 635 places |
| 2020 | #11,875 | 2,521 | 0.84 | -320 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 729 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 Rappaport 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 | #11,146 | #11,875 | -6.5% |
| Count | 2,841 | 2,521 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.84 | -12.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rappaport bearers went from 2,841 to 2,521 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 729 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,146 to #11,875.
FAQ
Rappaport surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rappaport?
Name Census estimates that about 2,891 living Americans carry the surname Rappaport. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,559 residents.
How common is Rappaport?
Rappaport ranks #11,875 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,521 people with the surname Rappaport. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,891), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Rappaport.
Has Rappaport become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rappaport went from 2,841 recorded bearers to 2,521. That is a decrease of 320 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,146 to #11,875.
What does the Census say about the background of Rappaport?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rappaport, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Rappaport in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (2,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rappaport appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Rappaport (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 Rappaport mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the German city of Rapperswil, meaning "raven's port" or "crow's port." 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 Rappaport (0.84 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 Rappaport?
Find out how many people are called Rappaport on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.