Lapp
A surname with multiple possible origins, including a short-form or regional name, and not one single secure derivation.
The #4,568 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,782 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Lapp is not securely explained by the old surname dictionaries. In English contexts it may reflect a nickname or descriptive surname related to a “lap,” border, hem, or fold, though that is not certain. In Irish sources it can also appear as an anglicized form linked to Gaelic names such as O Lapaín / Lapin, while in German-speaking areas it may be a separate surname with its own local origin.
History
The name appears in English records and in North America, but the historical notes available here do not give a single agreed origin. Woulfe’s Irish material suggests Irish forms such as De Lapp and related spellings, while other references treat Lapp simply as an established surname. Because the same spelling can arise in more than one language, modern bearers may have different family origins.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling is noted in older reference works as part of a cluster of surnames that can come from body-part words, place-names, or anglicized Gaelic forms, which makes it a good example of how one surname can have several independent roots.
From the historical record
“Worcester, and Salop. — Lapp.-Thorpe, A.-Sax. Kings, ii. 311. SHRIMPTON (Eng.). Littleseems to be known of the surname (fairly common in Oxford- shire) beyond the apparent fact that "from the reign of James L to that of”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)