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

Gertz, 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 Gertz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gertz in America

Gertz is the 14724th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gertz surname appeared 2,018 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Gertz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gertz 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 Gertz

The surname Gertz is of German origin, originating in the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Gerste," which means "barley." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational name for someone who grew or traded in barley.

In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Gerstner" or "Gerstenmeyer." These variations can be found in historical records from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Saxony, where a certain Hans Gerstenmeyer is mentioned in an entry from 1583.

The name Gertz is also found in the Siebmacher's Wappenbuch, a comprehensive collection of German coats of arms, where it is associated with a specific heraldic design.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name spread across various parts of Germany, as evidenced by records from different regions. In 1692, a Johannes Gertz is listed in the tax records of the town of Schwäbisch Hall in Württemberg.

Notable individuals with the surname Gertz include:

1. Elmer Gertz (1906-1996), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in the desegregation of public housing in Chicago.

2. Clifford Gertz (1926-2006), an American anthropologist and author best known for his work on symbolic anthropology and his book "The Interpretation of Cultures."

3. Nolen Gertz (1920-2005), an American author and screenwriter who wrote for television shows such as "Gunsmoke" and "Rawhide."

4. Theodore Gertz (1833-1886), a German-American artist and lithographer known for his landscape paintings and illustrations.

5. Franz Gertz (1900-1966), a German actor and director who appeared in numerous films during the 1930s and 1940s.

While the name Gertz has its roots in German culture, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and assimilation.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gertz

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!