Zapata is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Antonio Zapata y Cisneros (1550–1635), Spanish Roman Catholic bishop Argiro Zapata (born 1971), Colombian road racing cyclist Bernabé Zapata Miralles (born 1997), Spanish tennis player Carmen Zapata (1927–2014), American actress Claudia E. Zapata, Chicana artist Cristián Zapata (born 1986), Colombian footballer Diego Mateo Zapata (1664 – 1745), Spanish physician and philosopher Duván Zapata (born 1991), Colombian footballer Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919), Mexican revolutionary Emilio Zapata Díaz (1896–1977), Chilean trade unionist and politician Eufemio Zapata (1873–1917), Mexican revolutionary Fausto Zapata (1940–2014), Mexican politician Franky Zapata (born 1978), French personal watercraft inventor Hansel Zapata (born 1995), Colombian footballer Hilario Zapata (born 1958), Panamanian boxer Hugo Zapata (1945 –2025), Colombian architect Isabel Zapata (born 1984), Mexican writer, editor, poet and translator Javier de Jesús Zapata (born 1969), Colombian road racing cyclist Javier Farinós, full name Francisco Javier Farinós Zapata (born 1978), Spanish footballer José Antonio Zapata (painter) (1762–1837), Spanish painter José Zapata (footballer) (born 1957), Peruvian footballer Karen Zapata (born 1982), Peruvian chess player Marcos Zapata (c. 1710–1773), Peruvian painter Mario Zapata Vinces (1920–unknown), Peruvian chess player Maria Idalia Zapata (born 1946), Colombian chess master Mesías Zapata (born 1981), Ecuadorian race walker Mia Zapata (1965–1993), American musician Orlando Zapata (1967–2010), Cuban human rights activist Pedro León Zapata (1929–2015), Venezuelan cartoonist Richard Sosa Zapata (born 1972), Uruguayan footballer Róbinson Zapata (born 1978), Colombian footballer Rodolfo Zapata (born 1966), Argentine footballer and football manager Rodolfo Zapata (singer) (1932–2019), Argentine singer-songwriter and actor Salvador José Zapata (1781–1854), Spanish Galician pharmacist, philanthropist in Havana Víctor Zapata (born 1979), Argentine footballer Víctor Zapata (born 1994), Colombian footballer Fictional characters: Marcos Zapata, the alter-ego of the superhero Relámpago