2000
#63,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 293
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Rappoport
The surname refers to someone from the German town of Rappoltsweiler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 505 Americans carry the last name Rappoport. That puts it at #51,181 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 678,721 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rappoport 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
505
1 in 678,721
Census rank
#51,181
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
440
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 440 bearers of the surname Rappoport in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 51181st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rappoport, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rappoport
The surname Rappoport is of Jewish Ashkenazi origin and has its roots in the German language. It was originally derived from the Yiddish name "Raphe," which means "serene" or "peaceful." The name was adopted by families living in the Rhineland region of Germany during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rappoport can be traced back to the 16th century in various Jewish community records and tax rolls. One notable example is the mention of a Jacob Rappoport in the records of the Jewish community in Frankfurt am Main in the year 1568.
As Jews migrated eastward into Poland and Russia during the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Rappoport became more widespread. It was often spelled in various ways, such as Rappoport, Rapoport, or Rapaport, reflecting the different pronunciations and spelling conventions of different regions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Rappoport was Rabbi Chaim Rappoport (1670-1736), a prominent Talmudic scholar and author from Lviv, Poland. Another notable figure was Solomon Rappoport (1790-1867), a renowned rabbi and scholar from Lemberg (now Lviv, Ukraine), who authored several works on Jewish law and philosophy.
In the 19th century, the Rappoport surname gained prominence with individuals such as Samuel Rappoport (1808-1885), a Russian-Jewish mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of number theory. Another notable figure was Simeon Rappoport (1844-1923), a Russian-Jewish playwright and author who wrote extensively on Jewish culture and history.
One of the most famous individuals with the Rappoport surname was Anatoly Rappoport (1911-2007), a Russian-American mathematician and game theorist who made groundbreaking contributions to the field of decision theory and conflict resolution. He is considered a pioneer in the study of game theory and its applications to social and political sciences.
Over time, the Rappoport surname has spread across various parts of the world, with notable individuals bearing the name in fields such as academia, literature, science, and the arts. However, its origins can be traced back to the Jewish communities of Germany and Eastern Europe, where it emerged as a distinct surname during the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rappoport
Among Census respondents with the surname Rappoport, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Rappoport 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 Rappoport surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 408
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 21
- Two or more races1.8% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rappoport
Rappoport 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
#77,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 248
-45 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 13,632 places
2020
#51,181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 440
+192 bearers (+77.4%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 26,083 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #63,632 | 293 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #77,264 | 248 | 0.08 | -45 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 13,632 places |
| 2020 | #51,181 | 440 | 0.15 | +192 bearers (+77.4%) | Up 26,083 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 Rappoport 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 | #77,264 | #51,181 | 33.8% |
| Count | 248 | 440 | 77.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.15 | 84.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rappoport bearers went from 248 to 440 (+77.4% change). The surname moved up 26,083 positions in the national ranking, going from #77,264 to #51,181.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Rappoport
FAQ
Rappoport surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rappoport?
Name Census estimates that about 505 living Americans carry the surname Rappoport. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 678,721 residents.
How common is Rappoport?
Rappoport ranks #51,181 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 440 people with the surname Rappoport. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (505), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Rappoport.
Has Rappoport become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rappoport went from 248 recorded bearers to 440. That is an increase of 192 (+77.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #77,264 to #51,181.
What does the Census say about the background of Rappoport?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rappoport, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rappoport in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (408 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rappoport appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Rappoport (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 Rappoport mean?
The surname refers to someone from the German town of Rappoltsweiler. 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 Rappoport (0.15 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 Rappoport?
Find out how many people have the surname Rappoport on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.