Papa
A surname with two likely roots: a nickname for a priest or pope, or a word for “father” or “dad.”
The #5,768 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,415 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as coming from Latin papa, a word meaning “father” and used for “pope” or, more generally, a respected priest. In medieval records it could be applied as a nickname or occupational-style byname for a cleric, and related forms appear in French as Le Pape and in German as Pfaffe. In some cases, especially outside English-speaking areas, Papa may also reflect a familiar word for “dad” or “father” used as a nickname.
History
Medieval records in England and France show forms such as le Pape and Pope used as bynames. The German evidence also points to clerical nicknames built on Latin papa. In modern usage, Papa appears as a relatively uncommon surname in the United States and may have been reinforced by several independent origins in different languages.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root behind Papa also helped produce the English surname Pope.
From the historical record
“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.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)