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

Holtzclaw, 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 Holtzclaw surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Holtzclaw in America

Holtzclaw is the 11968th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Holtzclaw surname appeared 2,611 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 Holtzclaw.

We can also compare 2010 data for Holtzclaw 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 Holtzclaw

The surname HOLTZCLAW is of German origin, deriving from the Old German words "holtz" meaning "wood" and "klaue" meaning "claw" or "talon." It likely originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who worked with wood or perhaps hunted in the forests.

HOLTZCLAW first appeared in historical records in the 16th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany. Early spellings of the name included Holzklau, Holtzklau, and Holzclaw. It is possible that the name was initially a occupational surname for a woodcutter or lumberjack.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the HOLTZCLAW name is found in a 1587 tax record from the town of Nuremberg, where a Johann Holzklau is listed as a resident. Another early reference is in a 1612 church register from the village of Kirchberg, which mentions the baptism of a child named Anna Holtzklau.

In the 17th century, some variations of the name began to appear, such as Holzklauer and Holzklauer. A notable example is Johann Georg Holzklauer, a German composer and organist born in 1663 in Dresden.

As the centuries passed, the HOLTZCLAW name spread beyond Germany. In the 18th century, records show individuals with this surname living in neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. One prominent figure was Swiss-born Johann Jakob Holtzclaw (1732-1789), a noted theologian and author.

The 19th century saw the HOLTZCLAW name make its way to the United States, likely through German immigration. One of the earliest American bearers of the name was Friedrich Holtzclaw (1812-1891), who settled in Pennsylvania after arriving from Bavaria in the 1830s.

By the late 1800s, the HOLTZCLAW surname had become well-established in various parts of the United States. Notable individuals from this period include Virginia-born politician and lawyer John Holtzclaw (1853-1923) and Texas rancher and businessman William Holtzclaw (1861-1944).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Holtzclaw

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

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

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

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