Pape
A surname for someone nicknamed “the pope” or “the priest,” from French and Latin forms of that title.
The #5,477 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,621 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as coming from Old French pape, “pope,” ultimately from Latin papa, “father” or “pope.” In medieval English records it appears as a nickname-style byname, sometimes written with the article, as in forms like le Pape. A few older writers also note that similar forms may have been influenced by the French-language shape of the word in England.
History
The name is recorded in England by the medieval period and appears in northern and church records early on. It was probably used at first as a nickname, either for someone thought to resemble a pope or priest in dress or manner, or perhaps in a more jocular or pageant-related sense. Over time it settled as a hereditary surname and remains relatively uncommon today.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname books explicitly glossed Pape as simply the French form of Pope.
From the historical record
“PANYER = Pannier, q.v. PAPE (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Pope (a nickname and pageant - name) [Fr. pape, Lat. papa, , whence O.E./iif^ij] Hugh le Pape.— P/flc. Dom. Cap. Westm. PAPILLON (A.-Fr.-Lat.) a nickname from the Butterfly [Fr. papillon, Lat. papilio, ■onis]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)