Family name origins & meanings
- Swedish : from rapp ‘quick’, ‘prompt’; a soldier’s name, one of the monothematic names adopted by soldiers in the 17th century, before surnames became general in Sweden.
- German : from Middle High German rapp, rabe ‘raven’ (German Rabe), hence a nickname for someone with black hair, or some other supposed resemblance to the bird. Compare Raven. In some cases the surname may have arisen from a house name, thus denoting someone who lived in a house distinguished by the sign of a raven.