The Papa surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,005 people carried this name — #5,768 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 49,000 people counted. That is up 2% from 5,884 in 2000.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,711 people named Papa live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 498 people named Papa.
221 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Alpes-Maritimes.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
480 people named Papa live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Ticino.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
56 people named Papa have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 103 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Holy Cross.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 50 people named Papa live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
48 people named Papa is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Papa in American newspapers,
1898–1923.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 474,002 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Papa,
with a public archive behind them.
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Ulisse Papa 1844–1913 · politician -
Jacobus Papa d. 1560 · poet
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Joe Papa d. 2009 · singer
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Lucius Papa 1566–1632 · translator
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Antonio Papa 1627–1687 · Catholic priest
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Gabriele Papa 1772–1837 · Catholic priest
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Papa.
- Paolino 1,217 · U.S. census
- Paolo 452 · U.S. census
- Paoloni 135 · U.S. census
- Paolozzi 183 · U.S. census
- Paolucci 1,784 · U.S. census
- Paone 1,776 · U.S. census
- Papadopoulos 2,313 · U.S. census
- Papalia 442 · U.S. census
- Paparella 566 · U.S. census
- Papazian 1,005 · U.S. census
- Pape 6,350 · U.S. census
- Papi 314 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Papa is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.