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Zapata is an occupational surname recorded originally in its various spellings in medieval Spain, as well as in France, Italy, and Romania. The derivation is from the Old French word 'savate' meaning slipper, the surname being a metonymic or nickname for the maker or seller of shoes and slippers. There are at least thirty spelling forms, including Zapata, Zapato, Zapatero, Zapatera, Sabato, Sabata, Sabattier, Savatier and Sabatini. While the patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in Spain, occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages.
Spanish names were influenced by the Germanic speaking Visigoths, who conquered Spain from the mid-5th to 8th centuries, and the Arabic and Muslim Moors who conquered the Spanish homeland from the 8th to 12th centuries. Since Spain was periodically dominated by both of these nations in its past, it shared much in common with both the Visigoths and the Muslims in the occupations they described.
The coat of arms has the distinctive and appropriate blazon of a gold field, charged with a red shoe fesswise. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andres Cabellera Zapatero, which was dated April 12th 1588, born at Villa de Esqueva, Valladolid, Spain, during the reign of King Phillip 11 of Spain Emperor of Mexico, 1556 - 1598. The surname Zapata is relatively abundant throughout the Iberian peninsula and in Spanish-speaking countries, but is most common in the Aragon, Castille and Murcia regions of Spain.