Find out how popular the last name Donitzen is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Donitzen.

Donitzen, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Donitzen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donitzen in America

Donitzen is the 160975th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donitzen surname appeared 100 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Donitzen.

The history of the last name Donitzen

The surname Donitzen is believed to have originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "don" meaning "thunder" and "itzen" meaning "little," suggesting the name may have initially referred to someone who was small but had a booming voice or presence.

Early references to the name can be found in various church records and municipal archives from regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Donitzen, a blacksmith from the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, recorded in a guild register from 1583.

In the 17th century, the Donitzen name appeared in the records of the Holy Roman Empire, with Johannes Donitzen serving as a court scribe in the city of Nuremberg in the late 1600s. Around this time, variations of the spelling, such as "Dönitzen" and "Dönizen," were also documented.

The 18th century saw the Donitzen family spread across Central and Eastern Europe, with some members settling in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic. Notably, Christoph Donitzen, a Lutheran minister born in 1712 in Dresden, became a prominent figure in the religious community of Wrocław (then known as Breslau).

In the 19th century, the Donitzen name gained recognition through the artistic achievements of Johann Donitzen, a celebrated painter born in 1825 in Munich. His works, which often depicted scenes from Bavarian folklore and rural life, are now part of various museum collections in Germany.

Other notable individuals with the surname Donitzen include Karl Donitzen (1891-1980), a German naval officer who served as Grand Admiral during World War II, and Günther Donitzen (1910-1986), a German writer and poet known for his works exploring themes of existentialism and the human condition.

While the name Donitzen may have originated in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by descendants of those early bearers who emigrated from Europe in search of new opportunities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donitzen

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Donitzen.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Donitzen was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Donitzen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Donitzen, please contact us.

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