A well-known specialist on the origin of Jewish names, Alexander Beider says that the family name Natapov comes from the name of the river "Chernaya Natopa" ("Chernaya" means "Black" in Russian. The Belorussian name of the river is Natapa). This river flows on the territory of the former Mogilev gubernia, today the Mogilev area of Belorussia.
It should be noted that the name is very rare and despite its characteristic Russian sound, it is absolutely Jewish. It can be said safely that all Natapovs are relatives and moreover not so distant ones. Indeed, the name was taken not before the beginning of the 19-th century when Jews of the Russian empire were ordered to take hereditary names. That is, in other words, all Natapovs apparently have a common ancestor just 10-12 generations ago.