Zapata is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Cardinal Antonio Zapata, Lieutenant-General of Naples, 1664–1668
Argiro Zapata (born 1971), Colombian road cyclist
Carmen Zapata (1927–2014), American actress
Cristián Zapata, Colombian football (soccer) player
Duván Zapata, Colombian football (soccer) player
Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary
Eufemio Zapata
Hilario Zapata, Panamanian boxer
Javier Zapata, Colombian road cyclist
Francisco Javier Farinós Zapata, Spanish football (soccer) player, mother's surname is Zapata
Jose Antonio Zapata (painter), painter from Valencia, 1767–1837
Jose Antonio Zapata Cabral, contemporary Mexican journalist
Colonel Jose Antonio de Zapata, 19th Century Mexican military officer
Marcos Zapata, Native Peruvian religious painter, ca. 1710-1773
Mesías Zapata (born 1981), Ecuadorian race walker
Mia Zapata(1965-1993), vocalist of The Gits
Orlando Zapata (1967–2010), Cuban human rights activist
Pedro León Zapata, Venezuelan cartoonist
Róbinson Zapata Montaño, Colombian football (soccer) player
Victor Zapata, Argentinian footballer
Fictional characters:
Marcos Zapata, the alter-ego of the superhero Relámpago
