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

Gaetz, 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 Gaetz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaetz in America

Gaetz is the 44576th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaetz surname appeared 482 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 Gaetz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaetz 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 Gaetz

The surname "GAETZ" is of German origin, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "gatz," which means "goat herder" or "goatherd." This suggests that the name may have originated among families who made their living tending to flocks of goats.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, where a certain "Hans Gaetz" is listed as a resident. This indicates that the name was already established in that region by the 1300s.

In the 15th century, the Gaetz surname can be found in various records from the Rhineland area of Germany, including church registries and tax rolls. One notable individual from this time period was Johann Gaetz (c. 1430-1495), a master builder and stonemason who was involved in the construction of several landmark structures in the city of Cologne.

As the name spread across central Europe, it underwent some variations in spelling, appearing as "Gaetz," "Gatz," and "Götz" in different regions. In the 16th century, a branch of the Gaetz family settled in the Duchy of Württemberg, where they became prominent landowners and wine merchants. One member of this lineage, Christoph Gaetz (1560-1628), was a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a counselor to the Duke of Württemberg.

The 17th century saw the Gaetz name appear in the records of several German principalities, including Saxony and Brandenburg. A notable figure from this era was Matthias Gaetz (1625-1691), a Lutheran theologian and author who served as a pastor in the city of Dresden.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, as the German diaspora spread across Europe and beyond, the Gaetz surname can be found in various countries, including Switzerland, Austria, and even as far afield as Russia and the United States. One prominent individual was Johann Christoph Gaetz (1770-1842), a German-born architect and builder who helped design and construct several notable landmarks in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaetz

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

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

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

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