2000
#15,854
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,685
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Feltz
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "veliz" meaning rock or stony place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,076 Americans carry the last name Feltz. That puts it at #15,549 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,103 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Feltz 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
2.1K
1 in 165,103
Census rank
#15,549
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,810 bearers of the surname Feltz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15549th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Feltz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Feltz
The surname Feltz originated in Germany and is believed to have derived from the German word "Feltz," which means "rocky" or "cliff." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near a rocky area or cliff.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Feltz can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest spellings of the name include Feltze, Felte, and Felze.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Feltz was Hans Feltz, a merchant from Nuremberg who lived in the late 15th century. Records show that he was involved in the lucrative trade of spices and textiles between Germany and Italy.
Another notable individual with the surname Feltz was Johann Feltz, a German astronomer born in 1615 in Erfurt. He made significant contributions to the study of comets and published several works on astronomy during his lifetime.
In the 18th century, a German composer named Christian Gottlob Feltz gained recognition for his instrumental and vocal works. Born in 1739 in Dresden, he composed numerous pieces for the court of the Elector of Saxony.
The name Feltz also appeared in some historical documents related to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which was a conflict that ravaged large parts of central Europe. A few soldiers and military officers with the surname Feltz were mentioned in records from this period.
In the 19th century, a German painter named Wilhelm Feltz (1809-1871) gained recognition for his landscape paintings, particularly those depicting scenes from the Black Forest region of Germany.
While the surname Feltz is predominantly German in origin, it has also been found in other European countries, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries. However, the name's roots can be traced back to the rocky regions of Germany, where it first emerged as a descriptive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Feltz
Among Census respondents with the surname Feltz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Feltz 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 Feltz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 1,708
- Two or more races2.5% · 46
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Feltz
Feltz 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
#17,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,594
-91 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Down 1,771 places
2020
#15,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,810
+216 bearers (+13.6%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 2,076 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,854 | 1,685 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,625 | 1,594 | 0.54 | -91 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 1,771 places |
| 2020 | #15,549 | 1,810 | 0.61 | +216 bearers (+13.6%) | Up 2,076 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 Feltz 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 | #17,625 | #15,549 | 11.8% |
| Count | 1,594 | 1,810 | 13.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.54 | 0.61 | 12.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Feltz bearers went from 1,594 to 1,810 (+13.6% change). The surname moved up 2,076 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,625 to #15,549.
FAQ
Feltz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Feltz?
Name Census estimates that about 2,076 living Americans carry the surname Feltz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,103 residents.
How common is Feltz?
Feltz ranks #15,549 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,810 people with the surname Feltz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,076), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Feltz.
Has Feltz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Feltz went from 1,594 recorded bearers to 1,810. That is an increase of 216 (+13.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,625 to #15,549.
What does the Census say about the background of Feltz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Feltz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Feltz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (1,708 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Feltz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Feltz (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 Feltz mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "veliz" meaning rock or stony place. 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 Feltz (0.61 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 common is the surname Feltz?
You can see how many people have the surname Feltz on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.