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

Fritz, 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 Fritz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fritz in America

Fritz is the 1055th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fritz surname appeared 33,224 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Fritz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fritz to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Fritz

The surname Fritz originated in Germany and is derived from the old Germanic word "Fridu" which means peace. It was originally used as a nickname for someone with a peaceful nature or as a derivation of the personal name Friedrich.

The name first appeared in records from the Middle Ages, with variations such as Frits, Fritzke, and Fritzchen. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the medieval German epic poem "Das Nibelungenlied" which mentions a character named Fritz.

In the 13th century, there are records of a knight named Fritz von Staufen who served under the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The name also appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest, listing a landowner named Fritschi.

Notable individuals with the surname Fritz include:

1. Johann Jakob Fritz (1668-1722), a German painter and engraver known for his portraits and religious works.

2. John Fritz (1822-1913), an American inventor and pioneer in the steel industry, born in Pennsylvania to German immigrant parents.

3. Walter Fritz (1901-1983), a German World War II flying ace credited with over 100 aerial victories.

4. Gerd Fritz (born 1944), a German former professional football player and manager, who played for Bayern Munich and the West German national team.

5. Marianne Fritz (born 1948), an Austrian politician and member of the European Parliament, representing the Green Party.

The name has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Fritzlar, a town in the state of Hesse, and Fritzburg, a castle ruin in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fritz

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

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 Fritz 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.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Fritz has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Fritz was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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