2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Altholz
An old or ancient wood/forest/timber.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Altholz. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Altholz 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Altholz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Altholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Altholz
The surname Altholz is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German words "alt" meaning old and "holz" meaning wood or forest, essentially translating to "old wood" or "ancient forest".
The name likely originated in the forested regions of southern Germany, where some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found. Historical records from the 13th century mention an individual named Johannes Altholz residing in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria.
In the 14th century, the Altholz name appeared in various records and manuscripts throughout the German states. One notable example is the mention of a knight named Konrad Altholz in the chronicles of the city of Nuremberg, dated around 1380.
The earliest known ancestral bearer of the Altholz name was Dietrich Altholz, born in 1472 in the village of Schönau in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg. He was a woodsman and forester by trade, which aligns with the meaning of the surname.
Over the centuries, the Altholz name has been associated with several notable individuals. Heinrich Altholz (1505-1578) was a renowned German cartographer and mapmaker, known for his detailed maps of the Holy Roman Empire. Johann Altholz (1638-1709) was a Lutheran theologian and author of several religious texts.
Another prominent figure was Maximilian Altholz (1785-1862), a Prussian military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as a general in the Prussian Army. In the 20th century, Karl Altholz (1910-1988) was a German-American historian and academic, known for his works on German history and culture.
While the Altholz surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, the name's origin and meaning remain deeply rooted in the ancient forests and woodlands of southern Germany, where the earliest bearers of the name likely lived and worked.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Altholz
Among Census respondents with the surname Altholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Altholz 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 Altholz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Altholz
Altholz 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-4 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,804 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,957 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 14,804 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 4,957 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 Altholz 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 | #159,712 | #154,755 | 3.1% |
| Count | 101 | 102 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Altholz bearers went from 101 to 102 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 4,957 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #154,755.
FAQ
Altholz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Altholz?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Altholz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Altholz?
Altholz ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Altholz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Altholz.
Has Altholz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Altholz went from 101 recorded bearers to 102. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Altholz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Altholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Altholz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Altholz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (3.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Altholz (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 Altholz mean?
An old or ancient wood/forest/timber. 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 Altholz (0.03 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 have the surname Altholz?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.