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

Tapia, 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 Tapia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tapia in America

Tapia is the 647th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tapia surname appeared 52,651 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 18 people would have the surname Tapia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tapia 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 Tapia

The surname Tapia originates from Spain, where it first appeared during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "tapia," which means a mud wall or a fence made of earth or clay. This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with someone who lived near or worked with building or repairing such walls or fences.

The earliest recorded instances of the Tapia surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Spain, particularly in Castile and Aragon. One of the earliest documented individuals bearing this name was Pedro Tapia, who lived in the city of Seville in the late 13th century.

In the 15th century, the Tapia surname began to spread beyond Spain's borders as Spanish explorers and settlers ventured into the Americas. Notable individuals with this surname during this period include Juan de Tapia, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

The Tapia surname continued to gain prominence throughout the Spanish colonial era. Andrés de Tapia, born in 1550 in Mexico City, was a renowned architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in the Americas, including the Jesuit Church of Tepotzotlán in Mexico.

Another notable figure was Francisco de Tapia, a Spanish soldier and explorer born in the late 16th century. He played a significant role in the exploration and colonization of the Philippines, serving as the governor of the island of Mindanao from 1632 to 1636.

In the 19th century, Eugenio de Tapia, born in Spain in 1776, was a prominent military leader and politician. He served as the Captain General of Puerto Rico from 1822 to 1823 and later became the Minister of War for the Spanish government.

While the Tapia surname has its roots in Spain, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly in Latin American countries like Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, where it remains a common surname to this day.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tapia

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

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

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

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