2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Warpula
Warpula, a surname likely derived from a Slavic word referring to a place of origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Warpula. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Warpula 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Warpula in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Warpula, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Warpula
The surname "WARPULA" is believed to have originated in the region of northern Finland during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from an Old Finnish word "warpa" or "warppa," which referred to a type of fishing net or trap used in the region's numerous lakes and rivers.
The earliest known records of the name "WARPULA" can be found in parish registers and census documents from the late 16th century in the Finnish provinces of Ostrobothnia and Lapland. It is likely that the name was initially associated with individuals or families involved in the fishing trade or those living in settlements near bodies of water where fishing was a primary source of livelihood.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name "WARPULA" appears in a land deed from 1587, which mentions a certain Matti Warpula as the owner of a fishing hamlet along the banks of the Kemijoki River in Lapland. This suggests that the name had already been established as a surname by that time.
In the 17th century, the name "WARPULA" appears in a number of military records, indicating that individuals bearing this surname served in the Swedish armies that controlled Finland during that period. A notable example is Jaakko Warpula, a soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and is mentioned in a chronicle of the campaign.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the "WARPULA" surname continued to be prevalent in the northern regions of Finland, particularly in the cities of Oulu and Rovaniemi. Some notable individuals bearing this name include:
1. Antti Warpula (1765-1845), a successful merchant and landowner in Oulu.
2. Kaarina Warpula (1801-1879), a prominent folk artist known for her intricate woodcarvings and textiles.
3. Juho Warpula (1832-1904), a Lutheran pastor and author of several religious texts.
4. Matti Warpula (1870-1947), a member of the Finnish Parliament and advocate for workers' rights.
5. Liisa Warpula (1893-1976), a pioneering female architect and one of the first women to graduate from the Helsinki University of Technology.
While the "WARPULA" surname has its roots in the northern regions of Finland, it has since spread to other parts of the country and even to Finnish communities abroad, particularly in Sweden and North America.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Warpula
Among Census respondents with the surname Warpula, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Warpula 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 Warpula surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 5
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Warpula
Warpula 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,460 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,753 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 7,460 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,753 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 Warpula 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 | #146,201 | #147,954 | -1.2% |
| Count | 113 | 112 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Warpula bearers went from 113 to 112 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,753 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #147,954.
FAQ
Warpula surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Warpula?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Warpula. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Warpula?
Warpula ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 112 people with the surname Warpula. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Warpula.
Has Warpula become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Warpula went from 113 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Warpula?
Among Census respondents with the surname Warpula, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%) and Black (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 Warpula in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Warpula appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%), Black (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 Warpula (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 Warpula mean?
Warpula, a surname likely derived from a Slavic word referring to a place of origin. 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 Warpula (0.04 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 surname Warpula?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.