2000
#3,830
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,520
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.16
Rare Last name
Foltz
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the German word "Folz," meaning a jester, clown, or entertainer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,603 Americans carry the last name Foltz. That puts it at #4,114 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,692 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Foltz 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
9.6K
1 in 35,692
Census rank
#4,114
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,374 bearers of the surname Foltz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4114th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Foltz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Foltz
The surname Foltz has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is believed to derive from the German word "Volk," meaning "people" or "folk." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who was considered a leader or representative of a particular group or community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, where a certain Henricus Foltz is mentioned in a charter from the year 1185. This indicates that the name was already well-established in that part of Germany by the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms in different regions of Germany, such as Voltz, Voltze, and Foltze. These variations likely arose due to regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions at the time.
The surname Foltz is also found in some of the earliest German-language records from the city of Nuremberg, which was a major center of trade and commerce during the Middle Ages. In a document from 1349, a certain Hans Foltz is listed as a merchant operating in the city.
As the centuries passed, the name continued to spread throughout Germany and beyond. In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Martin Foltz, a Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1515 to 1588. He was a prominent figure in the early years of the Reformation and authored several works on theological subjects.
Another individual of note was Johann Foltz, a German composer and organist who lived from 1673 to 1741. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the organ chorale, a musical form that became popular in the Baroque era.
In the 19th century, the name Foltz gained further recognition through the work of Karl Foltz, a German writer and journalist who lived from 1818 to 1877. He was a vocal advocate for democratic reforms and played an active role in the revolutionary movements of 1848.
Finally, one of the most recent notable figures with the surname Foltz was Hans Foltz, a German-American architect who lived from 1892 to 1977. He was responsible for designing numerous notable buildings in the United States, including the original campus of the University of Miami and several structures in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Foltz
Among Census respondents with the surname Foltz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Foltz 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 Foltz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 7,733
- Two or more races3.5% · 296
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 237
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 51
- Black or African American0.4% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Foltz
Foltz 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
#4,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,714
+194 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 2.95
Rank movement Down 245 places
2020
#4,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,374
-340 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 2.80
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,830 | 8,520 | 3.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,075 | 8,714 | 2.95 | +194 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 245 places |
| 2020 | #4,114 | 8,374 | 2.80 | -340 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 39 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 Foltz 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 | #4,075 | #4,114 | -1.0% |
| Count | 8,714 | 8,374 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.95 | 2.80 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Foltz bearers went from 8,714 to 8,374 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,075 to #4,114.
FAQ
Foltz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Foltz?
Name Census estimates that about 9,603 living Americans carry the surname Foltz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,692 residents.
How common is Foltz?
Foltz ranks #4,114 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,374 people with the surname Foltz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,603), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Foltz.
Has Foltz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Foltz went from 8,714 recorded bearers to 8,374. That is a decrease of 340 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,075 to #4,114.
What does the Census say about the background of Foltz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Foltz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Foltz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (7,733 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Foltz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Foltz (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 Foltz mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the German word "Folz," meaning a jester, clown, or entertainer. 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 Foltz (2.80 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 Foltz?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Foltz at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.