Tappen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Abraham B. Tappen (1823–1896), American lawyer and politician Gerhard Tappen (1866–1953), German World War I general Kathryn Tappen (born 1981), NESN sportscaster Sarah Cornelia Tappen (d. 1800), wife of George Clinton, fourth Vice President of the United States from 1805 to 1812