Rapp
A surname of several possible roots, most often explained as a nickname for someone quick or lively, and sometimes linked to the name Ralph.
The #2,562 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,886 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Rapp has more than one traditional explanation. In Germanic sources, it is often connected with words like German and Danish rap, meaning quick, nimble, or swift; that makes it a nickname surname for a fast-moving person. Some 19th-century writers also treated it as a diminutive or shortened form of Ralph, so in some families it may have developed from a personal name instead.
History
The name appears in several Germanic naming traditions, including German, Dutch, Danish, and English records. Earlier surname dictionaries also note forms such as Rappe and Rappe/rapid-related variants, suggesting that the name could arise independently in different places. Because of that, modern bearers of Rapp may not share a single ancestor or single origin story.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century English surname dictionary glossed Rapp as meaning “swift, nimble,” showing how strongly it was associated with speed in older scholarship.
From the historical record
“a dimunitive of Ralph. RAPP. Germ, rapp^ quick, swift of foot. RAPSON. A contraction of RaljAson, the son of Ralph. RASHLEIGH. "Rashlcigh in the par- ish of Wemwortliy, in Devonshire, gave name to this ancient family, the elder line R A W”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom