2000
#10,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,861
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Artz
An occupational surname of German origin, referring to a doctor or healer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,047 Americans carry the last name Artz. That puts it at #11,348 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,489 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Artz 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
3.0K
1 in 112,489
Census rank
#11,348
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,657 bearers of the surname Artz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11348th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Artz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Artz
The surname ARTZ has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the 12th century. Originally, it was likely a variant of the occupational surname "Arzt," which means "physician" or "doctor" in German. The name may have been derived from the Middle High German word "arzat," meaning "to heal."
The earliest known record of the surname ARTZ appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a person named Henricus Artz is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1274.
During the medieval period, the surname ARTZ was predominantly found in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. Some variations of the spelling included Arz, Artzs, and Arztz. These variations were likely due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping during that time.
One notable bearer of the ARTZ surname was Johann Artz, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1592 to 1642. He was known for his religious and mythological works, and his engravings were highly regarded during the Baroque period.
In the 16th century, the surname ARTZ was also found in the town of Augsburg, Germany, which was a center of trade and commerce during the Renaissance. Records from the Augsburg City Archives mention a family named ARTZ who were involved in the textile trade.
Another prominent individual with the ARTZ surname was Karl Friedrich Artz, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1737 to 1807. He was a professor at the University of Göttingen and wrote extensively on moral philosophy and ethics.
In the 18th century, the surname ARTZ was also found in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Jakob Artz, a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as the mayor of Basel from 1769 to 1772.
As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and North America, the surname ARTZ spread to these regions as well. However, the earliest occurrences and historical references of the name can be traced back to its German origins in the medieval and Renaissance periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Artz
Among Census respondents with the surname Artz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Artz 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 Artz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,475
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 82
- Two or more races2.2% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Artz
Artz 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
#11,229
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,814
-47 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 912 places
2020
#11,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,657
-157 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,317 | 2,861 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,229 | 2,814 | 0.95 | -47 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 912 places |
| 2020 | #11,348 | 2,657 | 0.89 | -157 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 119 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 Artz 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 | #11,229 | #11,348 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,814 | 2,657 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.89 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Artz bearers went from 2,814 to 2,657 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 119 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,229 to #11,348.
FAQ
Artz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Artz?
Name Census estimates that about 3,047 living Americans carry the surname Artz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,489 residents.
How common is Artz?
Artz ranks #11,348 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,657 people with the surname Artz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,047), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Artz.
Has Artz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Artz went from 2,814 recorded bearers to 2,657. That is a decrease of 157 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,229 to #11,348.
What does the Census say about the background of Artz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Artz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Artz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,475 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Artz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Artz (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 Artz mean?
An occupational surname of German origin, referring to a doctor or healer. 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 Artz (0.89 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 last name Artz?
Want to know how many people have the surname Artz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.