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

Kats, 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 Kats surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kats in America

Kats is the 19390th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kats surname appeared 1,394 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 Kats.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kats 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 Kats

The surname KATS is believed to have originated from Germany, where it was derived from the nickname "Kats" or "Katz," which means "cat" in German. This nickname was likely given to someone who had a cat-like appearance or behavior, or perhaps someone who kept or bred cats.

KATS is thought to have first appeared in the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia. It was sometimes spelled as "Katz," "Katze," or "Katzen" in historical records and documents.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KATS can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a certain "Henricus Katz" is mentioned in a record dated 1292.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the Bürgermeisterbuch (Book of Mayors) of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, where a "Johannes Katzen" is listed as a citizen in 1376.

The surname KATS can also be found in the Breviarium Grimaldi, a 15th-century manuscript from the Duchy of Guelders (now part of the Netherlands), where a "Gerrardus Katz" is mentioned in an entry from 1472.

Among the notable individuals with the surname KATS throughout history are:

1. Michael Katz (1497-1567), a German theologian and Protestant reformer from Saxony.
2. Johann Katz (1565-1631), a German composer and organist from Bavaria.
3. Maria Katharina Katz (1678-1756), a German painter and engraver from Augsburg.
4. Johann Christian Katz (1732-1809), a German philosopher and mathematician from Saxony.
5. Karl Katz (1796-1857), a German writer and journalist from Württemberg.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals with the surname KATS who have made significant contributions throughout history in various fields, such as religion, music, art, philosophy, and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kats

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

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

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

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