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

Fritze, 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 Fritze surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fritze in America

Fritze is the 29171st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fritze surname appeared 812 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 Fritze.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fritze 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 Fritze

The surname Fritze is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Lower Saxony, specifically in the areas around the cities of Hanover and Brunswick. The name is derived from the Old German word "fridu" or "fritu," meaning peace or freedom.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fritze can be found in the Bracteatenschen Urkundenbuch, a collection of medieval documents from the city of Braunschweig (Brunswick). In this document, dated 1189, a person named Fridericus Fritze is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.

In the 13th century, the name Fritze appears in several other historical records, including the Altenberger Stiftungsbuch, a medieval chronicle from the Cistercian monastery in Altenberg near Cologne. Here, a monk named Conradus Fritze is listed among the monastery's residents.

During the 14th century, the name Fritze began to spread beyond Lower Saxony and into other parts of northern Germany. One notable figure from this period was Hans Fritze, a merchant and burgher from the city of Lübeck, who lived from approximately 1320 to 1385.

In the 15th century, the name Fritze can be found in various city records and tax registers. For example, a certain Johanne Fritze is mentioned in the tax records of the city of Hamburg in 1472.

As the name Fritze continued to spread across Germany in the following centuries, it also began to appear in different spellings and variations, such as Fritza, Fritzke, and Fritzsche. One notable individual from this period was the German painter and engraver Georg Fritze, who lived from 1640 to 1703.

Another famous bearer of the name Fritze was the German poet and playwright Johann Gottlieb Fritze, who was born in 1768 in the town of Zwickau, Saxony. His works, which included plays and satires, were widely popular in his time.

In the 19th century, the name Fritze gained further prominence with individuals such as the German writer and journalist Wilhelm Fritze (1808-1881) and the German jurist and legal scholar Carl Fritze (1835-1904).

Throughout its long history, the surname Fritze has been carried by numerous individuals from various walks of life, including artisans, merchants, scholars, and artists. While its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in Lower Saxony, the name has since spread across Germany and beyond, reflecting the rich cultural diversity of the German-speaking world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fritze

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

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

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

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