2000
#49,159
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 402
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Achatz
Derived from a diminutive of the German personal name Achatius, which means "good-hearted" or "kind."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 501 Americans carry the last name Achatz. That puts it at #51,462 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 684,140 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Achatz surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
501
1 in 684,140
Census rank
#51,462
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
437
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 437 bearers of the surname Achatz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 51462nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Achatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Achatz
The surname Achatz originated in Germany, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the German word "Achatz," which is a variant of the name Achacius, derived from the Greek "Akakios," meaning "harmless" or "guileless."
The name was initially concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was commonly found in historical records and documents. Some of the earliest known references to the name can be traced back to the town of Achen, located in the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in various German manuscripts and records, including the Kirchenbücher (church books) of several parishes in Bavaria. One notable example is the birth record of Johann Achatz, born in 1632 in the town of Aschaffenburg, located in present-day Bavaria.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the name spread across various parts of Germany, with individuals bearing the surname Achatz appearing in various historical documents and records. One prominent figure from this period was Johann Caspar Achatz (1732-1807), a German composer and organist known for his contributions to the development of church music.
In the 20th century, the name gained recognition globally due to the success of Grant Achatz, an American chef and restaurateur known for his innovative culinary techniques. Born in 1974 in Macomb County, Michigan, Achatz has earned numerous accolades, including being named one of the world's most influential chefs by Time magazine in 2008.
Other notable individuals with the surname Achatz include:
1. Anita Achatz (1909-1997), an Austrian actress known for her roles in German and Austrian films during the 1930s and 1940s.
2. Hans Achatz (1888-1972), a German painter and engraver known for his landscapes and cityscapes of Munich and the surrounding Bavarian countryside.
3. Maximilian Achatz (1853-1926), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Munich, including the former Bürgerbräu brewery.
4. Sylvia Achatz (born 1957), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, serving as a member of the Bundestag from 2009 to 2017.
5. Wilhelm Achatz (1899-1972), a German writer and journalist who chronicled life in Bavaria during the first half of the 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Achatz
Among Census respondents with the surname Achatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Achatz bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Achatz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.3% · 421
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 7
- Two or more races1.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Achatz
Achatz appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#48,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 436
+34 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 723 places
2020
#51,462
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 437
+1 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 3,026 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,159 | 402 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #48,436 | 436 | 0.15 | +34 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 723 places |
| 2020 | #51,462 | 437 | 0.15 | +1 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 3,026 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Achatz surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #48,436 | #51,462 | -6.2% |
| Count | 436 | 437 | 0.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.15 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Achatz bearers went from 436 to 437 (+0.2% change). The surname moved down 3,026 positions in the national ranking, going from #48,436 to #51,462.
FAQ
Achatz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Achatz?
Name Census estimates that about 501 living Americans carry the surname Achatz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 684,140 residents.
How common is Achatz?
Achatz ranks #51,462 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 437 people with the surname Achatz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (501), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Achatz.
Has Achatz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Achatz went from 436 recorded bearers to 437. That is an increase of 1 (+0.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #48,436 to #51,462.
What does the Census say about the background of Achatz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Achatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Achatz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (421 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Achatz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.3%), Hispanic (1.6%), Two or More Races (1.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Achatz (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Achatz mean?
Derived from a diminutive of the German personal name Achatius, which means "good-hearted" or "kind." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Achatz (0.15 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Achatz?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Achatz is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.