2000
#845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,201
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.79
Uncommon Last name
Tapia
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with mud walls or adobe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 57,806 Americans carry the last name Tapia. That puts it at #659 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,929 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tapia 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tapia with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
58K
1 in 5,929
Census rank
#659
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
50K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 50,410 bearers of the surname Tapia in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 659th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tapia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tapia
Among Census respondents with the surname Tapia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Tapia 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 Tapia surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.0% · 46,875
- White5.0% · 2,525
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 426
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 221
- Two or more races0.4% · 186
- Black or African American0.4% · 177
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tapia
Tapia 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
#647
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,651
+15,450 bearers (+41.5%)
Per 100,000 17.85
Rank movement Up 198 places
2020
#659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 50,410
-2,241 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 16.87
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #845 | 37,201 | 13.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #647 | 52,651 | 17.85 | +15,450 bearers (+41.5%) | Up 198 places |
| 2020 | #659 | 50,410 | 16.87 | -2,241 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 12 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 Tapia 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 | #647 | #659 | -1.9% |
| Count | 52,651 | 50,410 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 17.85 | 16.87 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tapia bearers went from 52,651 to 50,410 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #647 to #659.
FAQ
Tapia surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tapia?
Name Census estimates that about 57,806 living Americans carry the surname Tapia. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,929 residents.
How common is Tapia?
Tapia ranks #659 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 50,410 people with the surname Tapia. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (57,806), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Tapia.
Has Tapia become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tapia went from 52,651 recorded bearers to 50,410. That is a decrease of 2,241 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #647 to #659.
What does the Census say about the background of Tapia?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tapia, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tapia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (46,875 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tapia appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.0%), White (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Tapia (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 Tapia mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with mud walls or adobe. 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 Tapia (16.87 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 many people have the last name Tapia?
See how many people are called Tapia on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.